Unearthed
by TheWordMasterofFiction
Summary: Seven years have passed since Sarah Williams beat the Labyrinth. Despite attempts to move on with her life, a late-night plea from the Goblin King plunges her once more into a land where words have power and magic is fading away. Sometimes the way forward is the way back, and for the Champion of the Labyrinth, the end of the fairy-tale is only the beginning of a new adventure...
1. Reunion

Sarah Williams once believed in wishes and dreams.

In a time that felt long ago, her life was shaped by imagination, brimming with wishes and creativity unique to the mind of a child. Yet, a life cannot be made of dreams and wishes alone, and like all childhood pursuits, hers faded away in favor of much larger concerns. It began suddenly, as changes usually do, when she signed up for weekly therapy sessions. This came as no surprise—with an aloof actress as a mother, and a father lost in his new family needs, Sarah was a dream client. So, for seven years, week by week, Sarah sorted through her past. Things became easier with time-her family life stabilized, while her relationship with her step-brother blossomed.

The years passed, falling behind like leaves from a tree, and life shuffled forward. High school came and went, university flew by, and Sarah channeled her passion for the arts into a passion for teaching children. Friends flitted in and out of her life, and yet, she continued onward, never failing to attend her sessions, never failing to work through her past. Her life, by twenty-three, felt successful.

Well, all save one aspect.

For as much as Sarah tried, there remained one singular day in her life that she could not be rid of. If she were honest with herself, it was the entire reason for the shift in her life, and the abandonment of who she once had been. It was, much to her dismay, thanks to _that place_ that things changed for the better. She mentioned _that_ time before to her therapist, the only person she trusted to understand. While Sarah had the feeling that her therapist did not believe her, the advice she gave _did_ help. After all, _that_ place remained locked in the back of her mind, despite its attempts to crawl into her thoughts. _He_ could not intrude into her mind. Yet, every once in a while, a sight would threaten to unravel everything. An owl in a tree, a fleeting glimpse of sand-colored hair, a clock's chime—all would prompt Sarah to pause, take a breath, and repeat her mantra.

She had won. He had no power over her. It was over.

However, if that were true, then there would be no story to tell. For while Sarah Williams forgot about the place where wishes are heard, it did not forget her...

* * *

It was the last day of the school year, the last day before the ephemeral spring slipped deliciously into the heat of summer, and already the elementary school teachers flooded the bar in full force. It was an age-old tradition, a sudden collapse of decorum for those who put a mask upon themselves for ten months of the year. Now, with the masks removed, the celebration could properly begin.

The old adage about it being five o'clock somewhere rang true in the bar, as the clock that hung above the door, coated in a layer of dust, had stopped at that exact time nearly a decade prior. Huddled in the corner at a high-top table, three of her fellow third-grade teachers waved Sarah over as she walked into the space, grins threatening to eclipse their faces.

"Congratulations, Miss Williams," the eldest woman of the group yelled over the hubbub, as she patted Sarah on the back and gestured to the seat beside her. "You've survived your first year of Hell."

Laughing as she sat, Sarah could only shake her head at her more-experienced coworker. "Sharon, you're making it sound like we're returning war heroes!"

Sharon, already halfway through a salt-rimmed margarita, lifted her glass in a mock salute as it clunked against her horn-rimmed glasses awkwardly. "Now there's an idea! The brave soldiers, back from the War on Teacher Salaries and standardized testing! All hail our conquering heroes!" The group cheered as Sharon continued, "Sorry to start celebrating without you, Sarah—at my age I've lost all concept of patience. I think Meg is ordering the drink special if you want to get in on that."

"Sharon, she can't have the special—it's a fuzzy navel! She'll keel right over!" The red-headed woman sitting next to Sarah replied with a sympathetic grimace. "I saw someone drinking a frozen daiquiri that looked really good though. Maybe that'll be better than going into shock from your peach allergy."

The peach allergy was a convenient cover for Sarah, one her therapist suggested as a way to avoid tasting the fruit and triggering...well, things she never wanted to think about. No one questioned her on it, with most people going out of their way to make sure she never came into contact with the fruit, so as not to risk a 'deathly reaction.' Of course, every once in a while Sarah paused and had to remember her "allergy," such as now.

Quickly recovering, she laughed in response. "Well, after the kids I had in my class this year, maybe keeling over isn't such a bad idea after all!"

As further laughter bubbled through the group, a waif-like blonde asked, "Hey, has anyone seen Demi? She left before everyone else did; I swear I saw her drive out of the parking lot like a fiend."

"I don't blame her when she's got that delicious boyfriend of hers to get home to," Meg muttered as she picked up the menu. "She mentioned something to me at the end of the day today, about how he had a 'surprise' planned for her once she was done."

The blonde sucked in a quick breath, her eyes widening with realization. "You don't think he's going to propose, do you? They've only been dating what, a year?"

"Marty and I only dated for eight months," Sharon commented as she idly took another sip of her drink. "Of course, we'd known each other since high school, so it was a bit different than having just met. You and Trevor dated what, three years, Meg?"

"Four," Meg corrected, putting down the drink menu with a gesture of finality. "And we could've gone longer than that if I hadn't given him an ultimatum. Almost had a year-long engagement too—for someone who professes their love for me, he suffered from a case of cold feet."

Sarah chimed in at this point, putting a comforting hand on the blonde teacher's arm. "Better to have someone take their time than try to rush you towards a choice. Denise, didn't Alex propose to you on the first date?"

Denise wrinkled her nose at the memory. "To be fair, he was drunk and a nervous wreck. It's been two years now though, so maybe it's time for him to think about redoing the proposal—without the onion ring this time." She grinned once more at Sarah, seeming to forget about her own relationship as she exclaimed, "Maybe at the wedding you'll meet someone there and hit it off. I know Alex has a ton of friends from when he served in the military. Who doesn't love a man in uniform?"

Sarah was about to open her mouth to politely thank Denise for her offer when a squeal erupted from behind her. Turning, she was nearly bowled over by the fifth teacher in their cohort, who threw down her hand with a smack upon the table.

"He _proposed_!"

Ecstatic screams erupted in congratulations, Sarah's among them as she gazed at the massive diamond adorning Demi's hand. For a moment, she couldn't help but feel jealousy rise to the surface of her thoughts, a reminder that despite all her personal success, relationships were somehow out of her reach. Even though her therapist had helped reinforce that her lack of a stable relationship was not her fault, the number of times she had been on terrible first dates, or had successful dates and kisses at the end only to never hear from her date again, loomed in the back of her mind. Perhaps they were evidence for that nagging thought that wriggled in the back of her mind, the one that berated her for failing to have even a single boyfriend since...well, since...

She shut down that line of thought. _That_ was something she did not want brought into her mind before a night of drinking and gossiping, especially if one of her friends accidentally commented on her lack of love life. The last thing she needed was to drunkenly wish for a boyfriend of her very own and end up having one literally fall into her lap.

So instead, she joined her friends in congratulating their lucky member, pushing back the feeling that something was missing from her life. Soon enough that feeling, and the echoes of a past she did not want to remember, became smothered by the revelry of the night.

* * *

It was late when the cab dropped her off outside her apartment, and Sarah climbed the stairs and fumbled with her keys to the door. She was not officially drunk, but lost somewhere in between, within that liminal space occupied precariously by those buzzed but not too far gone. Still, she felt dizzy as she stepped into her small abode, releasing the tension in her body that had built up all day. All she wanted was to kick off the shoes that were biting into the back of her ankles, shrug off the cocktail dress, wipe off the makeup that felt heavy after hours of wear, and fall into a lonely sleep.

This was a routine perfected in college: her friends would scatter to the night, some heading back wrapped in the arms of a lucky individual, while she collapsed like a dying star in her dorm bed. While her college days were behind her, the routine picked up again every time her teacher friends invited her out. Her dorm room had been traded in for a one bedroom apartment, the lumpy living room furniture given to her by her father and stepmother, or painstakingly assembled from IKEA. It was cozy, with a bathroom light that flickered and an oven that ran too hot and burned countless meals, but it was hers. Her personality shone through amid brief spots of clutter—a stack of books on the kitchen table, for example, or an unwashed mug with a lonely green tea bag beside an incomplete puzzle.

The apartment was not perfect, nor was it at a price where she could live comfortably, but it was safe and warm and something that belonged to her. _My kingdom is as great as yours_, she thought with a brief smile, before banishing further reflection as she leaned against the door to remove her shoes and keep her balance.

Maybe it was due to the thoughts that tricked through her mind, maybe it was her determination to not think about her past that caused a reverse-psychology moment to occur. Whatever the case, a voice drifted from her darkened kitchen.

"Hello, Sarah."

Sarah froze, one shoe in hand and one foot lifted in the act of slipping it off. A chill washed over her. She knew that voice. There was no chance of her forgetting the sound of that voice, not even after seven years of stifling anything and everything that reminded her of _that_ voice. Slowly, praying quietly that she was just drunker than she imagined, she looked up and flicked on the light beside the door.

The Goblin King was leaning against her fridge.

She had to be drunk. There was no question about it, because the Goblin King was leaning against her fridge and smirking that _damned_ smirk, and he looked _exactly the same from seven years ago_. Same ridiculous shaggy hair, same open white shirt, same pants that she refused to look at for the sake of her sanity. Even his eyes, his mismatched, blue and brown eyes, held that smug, triumphant gleam in them, eyes that she swore could pierce her soul and lay her open for all to view. Sarah felt as though she was sixteen again, when the bitter words of her last wish coated her tongue and robbed her of speech in front of this mysterious, dark creature.

"Well, have I finally rendered you speechless? Nothing? No tra la l—"

His words were cut off with a solid _whack_ as Sarah's blue pump found their mark right on the nose of the Goblin King, sending him reeling backwards. It hadn't hit hard enough to do damage, but it did send him reeling backwards and sputtering in shock.

"Did you just...a _shoe_?"

Already Sarah was in the process of removing her other shoe, her fury barely restrained as she gripped the pump like it was a bat.

This was something her intruder had obviously not expected, judging by the expression in his eyes and his slow steps backwards. "Now now, let's not be hasty, precious—"

"No, don't you dare say a goddamn _thing_," she hissed, advancing with her shoe. "There is no way you're here right now. I'll hit you with this, you'll...turn into _glitter_ or some crazy shit, and then I can sleep off whatever drunken nonsense I'm looking at."

Again, he had the audacity to grin at her. "My, you certainly haven't changed. Still the same stubborn, fiery spirited girl from all those years ago." Regaining his confidence, he took a step forward. "I can assure you I'm very much here, my dear. I have ways of proving it to you, if you wish to—"

_Whap_!

The shoe came down hard on the left shoulder of the Goblin King, whose eyebrows raised to the point where Sarah was sure they would take flight from his forehead. "Really, my dear, is this necessary?"

"You're _real_." Sarah stumbled backwards, catching herself on the arm of her worn sofa for balance as her shoe clattered to the floor. The room was beginning to spin a bit, with her earlier drinks not helping to smother her growing panic. "You're actually in my _apartment_."

"Ah, is that where we are?" The Goblin King gazed around the room in amusement, eyes alighting on a small photo Sarah had on the wall. It had been taken last year at her college graduation, showing her laughing joyously with her arms wrapped around an equally happy Toby. "I see you're still close to your brother! I always wondered how the boy was doing—does he remember anything about his time with me? Or haven't you told him about the time you wished him away?"

The shock that had smothered Sarah evaporated, replaced by an anger that rushed through her bloodstream. Glaring, she crossed her arms in front of her in an attempt to reign in control once more, leaning on the sofa for strength. "Why are you here, Goblin King?"

"Come now, Sarah, there's no need for my formal title. After seven years I would expect us to be at least civil with one another."

"_Civil_?! You don't get to lecture me about being civil—you took Toby away!"

Exasperated, the Goblin King massaged his temples with a drawn-out sigh. "You wished him away, you foolish child! I merely carried out what you asked for, and you won him back in the end. I'm surprised you haven't taken the opportunity to gloat over your victory, given the pompous display you put on before."

"No, don't you _dare_ act condescending," Sarah said, bold enough now to march forward and point an angry finger at the Goblin King. "My 'victory' meant I had to deal with shit a child should never go through, thanks to you and your stupid manipulations. I've been in therapy for seven_ years_ because of the things you put me through. You know what it's like to be fifteen and have experiences that you can't tell anyone else about? I didn't sleep for _weeks _after Toby came back because I worried that one of the goblins would come back and take him while I wasn't looking." All the anger, all the terror of the past seven years, felt as if it were bubbling up from her very soul as Sarah hissed, her voice becoming choked with pent-up emotion as she continued. "I couldn't look at a single owl for years, and I _still_ can't eat peaches after the little stunt you pulled before. I've done everything I can to move past my experience in your Labyrinth, and just when I thought I was ok again, here you are, in my fucking apartment at one in the morning! So no, _Jareth_, I'm not going to be civil with you. You're going to leave, and I'm going to repeat the exact same word I told you the last time we had a conversation: you have no power over me!"

A silence descended over the apartment, and Sarah watched as the smug look in Jareth's eyes disappeared, replaced by a cold, hard stare. For a second, the rational portion of her brain berated her for speaking in such a way to a mythic figure who could easily smite her off the face of the earth. Whatever icy stare Jareth held morphed into something else she could not name, and the tension in the room melted away. He sighed, looking down at her and giving a slight shake of his head. "You are correct, I have no power over you. I can't make or force you to do anything, but I had hoped that you would at least be open enough to listen to why I'm here."

Sarah rubbed at her eyes, as the anger that had spiked her adrenaline burnt away into an overwhelming need to simply throw herself into bed and pray this was all a dream. "Fine. Can it wait until I'm not drunk though? It's been a long day, and I just want to sleep. I've had enough trauma for one day." She did not wait for an answer as she turned away from Jareth, picking up her dropped shoes and heading towards the safety of her bedroom.

"Sarah."

Something in his voice, something that hinted at pain and apology, caused her to stop at the doorway to her bedroom.

She heard him sigh once more, before muttering "It was never my intention to harm you. Scare you, yes; impede you, yes; but never harm you."

"It did though," she said, finding strength in her words, "It harmed me. You being here makes it worse." Now she looked back over her shoulder, tentatively gazing at him in worry. The villain she remembered still looked the same, but now that she glimpsed him, she could see the exhaustion in his form, the tired way he held himself against her fridge. He had always appeared much older than her, even as a child, but now she could see that age draped over him as if he wore it. If the usually cheery and smug Goblin King was weary, and visiting the one person who had beaten him, then something could be very wrong. "Jareth, why are you here if it isn't to apologize? What do you think you can say that'll make me want to listen to you?"

He glanced once at the picture of her and Toby, a picture of her actually showing happiness without the burden of the past, before meeting her eyes again. "Your friends are in grave danger. Something is wrong with the Labyrinth...and I need your help to make it right again."

* * *

Sarah did not go to bed. Instead, at two in the morning and with bags growing under her eyes, she sat on the couch and simply stared at Jareth, who had pulled up one of her kitchen table chairs to sit across from her. Between them on the coffee table were two steaming mugs of green tea, and a worn red book that Sarah had fetched from her bookcase without a word. Although faded and peeling away, Sarah could still make out the words _The Labyrinth_ written across the cover. It was surreal, almost as surreal as the mythical Goblin King sitting in her apartment, holding one of her chipped mugs emblazoned with a rainbow and sappy quote.

Perhaps she should have put wine into her mug instead of tea.

"So," she began, fixing Jareth with an unwavering stare. "What exactly is wrong with the Labyrinth?"

Jareth seemed as equally uncertain as she did, perhaps still chastened by her earlier words. "That's difficult to explain, my dear. After you left the Labyrinth, things were mostly fine. Never before had someone managed to..."

"Beat you?"

He gritted his teeth at the mention of her triumph, shooting her a glare. "Yes, and thank you for reminding me _again_. Your...success brought with it new challenges, however, changes to the Labyrinth that were unexpected. Old areas disappeared, new areas materialized, creatures came and went. For seven years this occurred, and for seven years I was unconcerned. Then, a week ago..." Jareth trailed off as his gaze left hers, and murmured something Sarah could barely hear, something that sounded suspiciously like "I lost my magic."

"You _lost_ your magic?!"

"Not all of it," he clarified with a wince, "but something changed. I still have power beyond what you can even imagine, but...well, _something_ is missing."

"So, you came here because you think I can, what, restore what went wrong? How do you even know what's missing?"

"I can show you. Make a wish."

"_Hell_ no." Sarah had once made this mistake before, a few weeks after returning from the Labyrinth and in the middle of doing a rather difficult homework assignment. In anger, she had hissed out the words "I wish I didn't have to do this homework," and with a flash, it had disappeared in a puff of glittering smoke .Her teacher never mentioned the assignment the next day, and none of the students in her class seemed angry over her not turning it in. It was as if she had simply not been assigned the homework to begin with. While before she might have reacted with excitement over her newfound power, she instead found herself horrified at how such a silly and unintentional request could change her world. After that day, she had made a rule: no more wishes.

Her stubbornness seemed to jump-start something in the Goblin King, as she watched that ridiculous smirk curl about his face. "Dear Sarah, I promise no harm will come from a simple wish. You of all people know the power of the right words—make a wish, see what happens."

"Fine." Sarah thought for a moment. "I wish the goblins would come take you away, _right now_."

Nothing happened.

She hated that smug smile, that look of being right that he seemed to preen over. "An interesting wish...but as you can see, one that has gone unanswered. Wishes would seem to be nothing more than words now—they carry no discernible power, and I cannot fulfill them as I once did. The power of wishes is gone, and the Labyrinth is suffering without that power."

"I thought the Labyrinth was just a kingdom! A kingdom filled with goblins who stole babies and turned them into more goblins! You're making it sound like a living thing."

She glared at him as he tutted. "Ah, silly girl, you should know better than anyone else. The Underground is a land of magic, and the Labyrinth is where wishes are heard and fulfilled. It is my duty to listen, to heed and carry out the wishes of all, not just for silly girls who wish their brothers away." As she opened her mouth to retort, he held up a finger, becoming solemn again as he continued, "At least, that was _before_. A week ago, something changed. Wishes seemed to stop being, well, wished. I chalked it up to sheer coincidence on the first day, and an oddity the second, but by the third day I knew something was wrong. I went Aboveground, and I watched your kind make wish after wish...but I couldn't hear them. I did not feel the pull I once felt when a wish was made, a compelling urge to attend to and rectify such desires. They were simply words without power."

Realizing her tea was getting cold, Sarah lifted her mug to her lips, her eyes never leaving Jareth's. He in turn simply watched with a befuddled expression, until she put her mug down. "Okay, so you can't do anything with wishes. Maybe that's a good thing? People can't wish away their children now; they have to learn to make things better by themselves."

"It's a nice thought, precious, but like I said before, the Labyrinth exists because of wishes. Without them, things have begun to unravel. Areas of the Labyrinth have disintegrated, people are disappearing, and things are becoming a bit more...hopeless, I suppose. Wishes keep the denizens, my subjects, alive. If there are no wishes, well..."

There was something troubling in what Jareth did not say, something that brought to Sarah's mind some words he had uttered earlier. "If there's no wishes, what happens to Hoggle, and Sir Didymus, and Ludo?"

"They fade away, and they die."

His honesty brought a cruel edge to his words, shocking Sarah into silence for a moment. "Die? You're sure? I thought nothing in the Labyrinth could die."

A chuckle, devoid of humor, escaped Jareth's lips. "Everything has its time, my dear. Your friends have long lives, but those lives have limits much like your own."

Sarah gripped her mug tightly, ignoring the growing panic deep in her stomach. Her voice wavered, belaying her inner fear. "So, the Labyrinth can't fulfill wishes and is slowly dying. Why come to me? What the hell do you think I can do—I'm just a _teacher_!"

"You give yourself too little credit," Jareth murmured with a tilt of his head, as he traced a finger over the cover of the book between them. "You know everything about the Labyrinth, even before you visited it, so you may be the only hope for stopping whatever is happening."

"At least you're not accusing me of causing whatever's going on."

"Oh, I haven't ruled that out," he growled, "but given your response to me being here, I doubt you're _willingly_ causing my kingdom to fall." They glared at each other, silent in the late hours of the night. Finally, Jareth spoke again. "This is the only option I have left, precious. As much as you hate me, I need your help."

"I'm not your precious," Sarah muttered darkly, standing and grabbing her mug to put in her kitchen sink. She thrust out a hand and gestured for Jareth's mug, which he gave to her with a chuckle and sat in place as she moved into the kitchen, speaking as she did so. "I only want to help my friends, so I'll make a deal with you, Goblin King."

"Oh? What sort of deal are we talking about?"

From the kitchen came the sound of water, as Sarah scrubbed at her dirty dishes. "I agree to help you, and once I'm done, you stay away for good. No more owls stalking me, no more appearing in my apartment, no more magic surveillance bullshit. Once things are back to normal, you leave me alone and let me live my own life. Let me forget about the Labyrinth."

He was quiet for a long time, and Sarah nearly asked if he was paying attention when he replied, "Fine. We have a deal, then." She was surprised it had been that easy, that the trickster didn't try to pull one over on her or renegotiate the deal to better suit himself. Where were his manipulations that she remembered, the candor of power and control she had fought against for thirteen hours? There was a bite to his words however, and as she returned from her meager kitchen she caught his bitter gaze. "Go rest. In the morning, you and I can return to the Labyrinth so you can see how dire the situation is."

When she nodded in reply, his stern features softened into something akin to sorrow. This too caught Sarah by surprise—when had the Goblin King ever acted sorrowful about anything?

"You've changed, haven't you? You've forgotten all about your time playing the hero."

A ragged, angry sigh passed her lips. "I was a child who didn't know any better. Children grow up and move on from wishes, Jareth—they learn to cope with their pasts in better ways than living inside their imaginations. The world is tough and cruel, tougher and crueler than you, and I had to adapt."

His scoff, loud amid the silence, kindled her anger once more. "Yes, 'adapt' by losing yourself to the boring, empty life you lead now. Tell me, precious, are you happy with your life?"

"I'm successful—"

"That's not what I asked. Are you _happy_?"

Memories floated past, memories of Demi joyfully showing off her ring to her friends; of Denise giving her a look of sympathy as she spoke about setting her up; of nights in college where her roommates went out without her and she found herself studying alone. Once again, the Goblin King had come into her life and laid everything out in front of her like a deck of cards, and she found that she could not answer him truthfully one way or the other. Was she happy? If so, what was the aching, unsettling void festering within her, the one that had never left her life despite years of trying to define it?

"What happened to the Sarah I remember?" Jareth's murmur broke through her thoughts, popping them like delicate bubbles. "What happened to that firebrand of a girl, who dared to wish for things beyond her wildest dreams?"

Wearily, head incredibly heavy with exhaustion, she could only whisper, "She learned to be careful what she wished for."

Jareth did not reply, and she did not wait to hear if he ever did. Instead, she shut her bedroom door and soon found herself in bed, drifting into sleep. However, the thoughts that she once shoved deep into her mind, the experiences she once hated to reflect upon, haunted her. It appeared that there was no escape from the past, as much as she wished otherwise. Her past was right outside her bedroom door, and it was determined to drag her back to the Underground whether she liked it or not.

* * *

**It's been a long, long time since I've written fanfiction.**

**Fanfiction is a strange category of creative writing, where fandom tends to triumph over quality, and occasionally ideas just don't pan out. When I was younger and in high school, I wrote many fanfics of varying qualities, lost much like Sarah Williams in the vast expanse of creative imagination. That, however, was seven years ago, and I'm older and more tired now. While I have not had to endure dangers untold, I have dealt with a myriad of problems within my life, most recently involving a rare blood disorder that caused me to have a blood clot at the age of twenty two. In between tests and hospital visits, and contemplating my own mortality, I had a glimmer of an idea- what if, after all Sarah went through in the Labyrinth, she turned away from her imagination and the Labyrinth, and tried to work through her very troubled life? So many fics wrestle with the idea of Sarah being lonely and alone after her experience, or Jareth broken over his rejection and defeat at the hands of a young girl. Yet, I want to showcase something different, with two characters who grew up and attempted to move on, who have to work through their past instead of push it away, and who are exhausted over having to carry the burden of their pasts with them. They may not be your version of the iconic characters, but I am not concerned with that. There is still much more story to explore, and over time I believe they will arrive at a happy ending.**

**I cannot guarantee a timely ending to this story, as I have the beginning here and the ending somewhat thought out, with the middle murky and unformed. Yet, there is a catharsis for me to get these words upon a screen, to write a story as an adult that tackles that adult quality of day-to-day misery, that empty question of "Is this all there is to life?" I don't write for views or reviews, but simply to get ideas out of my system, and provide an escape from a quickly-approaching masters thesis I need to start. The story on this site is edited to comply with certain guidelines, but I'll be updating simultaneously on that other, popular fanfiction site. That edition will have cursing and probably have an explicit scene down the line, so if you want the full, uncensored version, I suggest reading it on there- the name will be the same. Either way, I will do my best to finish this story, to get this out of my system and into your hands. When it will be next updated is unknown to me. Hopefully, soon.**

**Having possibly written the most negative author's note of all time, I leave you here, reader. I ask for no sympathy, nor do I beg for reviews, although comments and criticisms of all varieties are accepted.**

**Until next time.**


	2. What Happens to a Dream Deferred?

_That night, for the first time in many years, Sarah dreamed._

_It was cold. This struck her as odd, because from her recollections it had never been cold the first time. The temperature once hung at that nauseating equilibrium between sweltering and freezing, but now the air was chilled. Perhaps most ominous was the encompassing silence, aside from the crunch of grass under her feet._

_Sarah found herself at the entrance to the Labyrinth, although she barely recognized it now. The once strong wooden doors had come off their hinges, and crumpled over into splintered heaps. A light layer of frost covered everything in sight, including the crumbling walls of the entrance and the browning leaves of the maze itself. All was still and eerily silent. Tension blanketed the air as Sarah looked around the twilight landscape, unable to see past the wall of thick fog that encircled her. Something felt wrong, unnaturally wrong in fact, but in a way she could not put into words._

_In the distance came a groan, as if the earth itself was bemoaning the cold. Sarah shivered at the heart-wrenching, guttural holler that echoed in her bones. The crumpled leafed hedges in front of her trembled and the bricks shook off a layer of fine dust. Cautiously, she began to walk, passing the broken doors without a second glance as she headed into the Labyrinth. Mist curled around her feet, parting only as she moved mechanically through the twists and turns. Her way forward was burned into the back of her mind, each step allowing it to roar back to life and guide her onward. She moved without thinking, without consideration other than the half-realized knowledge that she was dreaming. She soon found herself in front of a familiar pond, a familiar cottage, and a familiar figure._

_Nothing had changed. Everything had changed._

_Hoggle had always appeared old to her, but the figure slumped beside the crumbling walls looked far older than she remembered. His eyes were milky; his hair was patchy and ragged, and his face was the color of ash. As Sarah stared in horror, he turned his head to face her, although his eyes did not meet hers. "There isn't...much time left," he croaked, his voice sounding like stones scattering down a mountainside. "Sarah...where are you?"_

_"Hoggle! Hoggle I'm right here!" Quickly, she knelt beside him, but as she attempted to draw him into her arms, her hands went through him as if he were mist. The sensation wrenched a gasp from her lips, for it burned as if she had scalded herself. Hoggle's eyes widened as if he could feel her touch, and he noticeably shuddered. "Oh Hoggle," Sarah murmured, "I didn't know it was this bad. I'm coming, I promise."_

_If he heard her, he gave no indication besides a soft groan of pain. Off in the distance, the moan she heard before echoed through the Labyrinth, shaking the stone walls and causing dust to flutter downward. This time, Sarah felt the very ground around her shudder, and she found that she was falling, ripped away from her friend and cast into endless darkness. There were no helping hands to stop her fall this time, nothing to keep her from hurtling downward forever and ever..._

Sarah jolted awake with a gasp and wrestled with her covers in a panic before realizing she was no longer dreaming. The morning sunlight streamed into her bedroom, too bright for her sensitive eyes to handle. Her head pounded along with her heartbeat as she lay in bed. _Great_, she thought to herself, _it's the first day of summer and I'm already hungover. _Already her teeth felt fuzzy, coated in the moss of slumber that also addled her mind- a rarity for her, since she was meticulous about her evening routine before bed. Had she truly had so much to drink that she had passed out in bed before brushing her teeth?

Then Sarah remembered why she had a hangover in the first place.

Cursing, she leaped from her bed, hastily throwing on some casual clothes and bursting into the living room, only to stop in surprise at finding it completely empty. Everything looked normal; her dirty dishes for the week were still stacked in the sink, and her books and students' report cards were still in neat piles. She had expected goblins scurrying underfoot, or perhaps Jareth lounging on her couch, but her apartment was quiet. Even that old, faded red book still sat upon her coffee table, as if to taunt her with memories of the previous night. She ran a hand over the cover, unable to help but smile at the reminder of youthful days in the park. It felt like those teenage years had been part of another lifetime, one in which she was naïve and stubborn and living in her fantastic imagination.

The phone rang, and any warmth she may have harbored over her past self was shoved to the back of her mind. Picking up the phone from the wall, she wound the cord around her finger listlessly and winced at the sound of her hoarse voice. "Hello?"

There was crackling on the end of the line, and then a soft, familiar voice. "Hi Sarah!"

"Toby!" Forgetting her hangover for an instant, Sarah did her best to hide her weariness with a chipper voice. "Hi, buddy! What's up?"

"Sarah, it's Saturday. Did you...forget?"

Sarah's Saturdays had fallen into a routine over the past few years. First, she would go to her weekly therapy session, and then she would swing by her childhood home and take Toby out for ice cream in the park. Never before had she missed a Saturday, but with the shock of the night, her careful routine was shattered before her and she had indeed forgotten. Moreover, glancing at the clock, she inwardly groaned at realizing she had overslept and missed her session as well. "I'm so sorry Toby, I completely forgot. I had a busy night last night."

"It's okay. Mommy says everyone forgets something sometimes." He paused, and she heard him whisper into the phone, "Can we still get ice cream?"

Before she could answer, there came a soft tapping at her window. Turning, she sucked in a breath at the sight of a white barn owl perched outside, its beak pressed against the glass. If owls could glare, this one was definitely giving her a dirty look. _Ah_, Sarah thought, _looks like I didn't dream _him_ up after all_. She mouthed the words "Go away" at the window and waved her hand in a shooing motion to make her point before responding to her brother. "I...don't think today is going to be a good day for ice cream, buddy. There's...something I need to take care of this weekend."

"Oh. Can we get ice cream next week?"

"We can get double scoops next weekend, for sure."

Her brother gasped in delight, and Sarah shot a glance at the owl to see him tapping his talons impatiently on her windowsill. Either her window was now home to one very moody owl, or Jareth was _not_ amused to be kept waiting. "Toby, I have to go now. There's...someone I need to talk to, or else he'll get grumpy. I can't wait to get ice cream soon, though."

"Sarah?"

"Mmm?"

"I love you!"

"Aw, I love you too! You keep being good, okay? Don't forget that you're the best brother in the whole world!" Sarah smiled at Toby's giggle on the other end of the line, but with that smile came a lump in her throat. Her explanation to her brother was true- she did have someone to deal with- but it still felt like a lie. Lying to a seven-year-old who thought she could do no wrong was not a feeling she reveled in, and as she hung up the phone, the smile slipped from her face. The Goblin King had been cruel last night in reminding her of her prior wish, but he had been honest. Wishing Toby away was the biggest mistake she ever made, and she could only hope that over the years she made it up to him, even if he never realized it.

A grumpy hoot alerted her once more to the visitor outside. Sarah sighed, and opened the window to stare down at the owl before her. "You know," she muttered, "there's a perfectly good door you could knock on. Hell, why don't you just poof into my apartment and scare the shit out of me like you did last night?"

The owl flew past her into the room, and with a fluttering of glitter the Goblin King stood before her, adorned in black leather and a smirk. "I could," he admitted as he adjusted his laced sleeves, "but it occurred to me that you may attack me with another shoe." A sardonic smile spread across Jareth's face, as he added in a low voice, "Besides, perhaps I enjoy having you wait on me."

Despite his human form, his eyes still held that owlish, predatory gaze, trapping Sarah with their power. A few years ago, Jareth standing in her living room would have terrified her, or sent her tripping over the edge into a full mental breakdown. Now, something was...different. He scared her, yes, but the night before he had seemed almost as world-weary as she was. In the light of day, he seemed less of a boogeyman and more like a worn out, washed-up rock star, leather boots and all. Maybe she had been right, and he no longer had power over her.

Maybe. Either way, here he was, a glamorous thing amidst her very unglamorous life. "Well," she finally sighed, "you've left me waiting on you to show up. Did you have a good flight to...well, wherever it is you went?"

"I have a kingdom to run, despite it falling to pieces before my very eyes." His cracks were beginning to show as the regal air he held slipped a fraction. She could have sworn she saw Jareth grimace and ball a glove-covered hand into a fist with a wince. He had mentioned the loss of power to her before, but it vanished from her mind during the torrent of emotion and information. Apparently, he was not keen on discussing his newfound, mysterious weakness, as he straightened and continued before she had a chance to question him. "Now, I believe you've wasted enough time Above."

Ignoring his biting attitude for the time being, Sarah replied, "I wasn't wasting time. Toby called- I usually spend Saturdays getting ice cream with him. It's our thing."

"How absolutely _charming_. Your relationship with your brother has vastly improved since you carelessly wished him to me."

"It has, and I'm still trying to make it up to him." Suddenly feeling as if she had never slept, Sarah moved into her kitchen for a glass of water, ignoring the headache beginning to form from both the previous night's drinks and the antics of the Goblin King. If his goal was to irritate her, she decided not to rise and take the bait as she added, "It's part of my routine. I go to therapy, then Toby and I get ice cream together and sit in the park. Helps makes me feel a little more...well, normal."

She heard him scoff, and turned to see him almost directly behind her, making her jump at their proximity. While before he had been proud and pompous, the longer he held her gaze, the more that energy seemed to fade. Instead, he looked absolutely befuddled. "Oh, precious," he murmured after a moment, "why would you ever consider yourself _normal_?"

"I'm _not _your _precious_," she grumbled as she sidestepped around him to draw water from the sink. The last thing she needed was the man who haunted her subconscious directly in her personal space. "I'm not some silly teenager with her head buried in fantasy, either." Taking a gulp, she studied his warped image through her glass, smirking at how it distorted his form. "I gave that all up and became an adult. I learned my lesson to grow up and care about the real people in my life. Everything else I just...outgrew."

"Yet you kept the book," Jareth noted, looking now towards the small red volume on the table. "If you truly wished to cut yourself off from the friends you made in the Underground- don't scowl, my dear, that's what you've done all these years- then why keep it?"

Was he serious? She would have laughed at his audacity if she had been in a better mood. "Because," she nearly growled, "it won't _leave._" Snatching up the worn red book, Sarah stomped toward the open window and threw the once-cherished novel as hard as she could. She felt a bolt of triumph at watching Jareth's brief shock and alarm as the book tumbled end over end out the window and away from view.

She, however, spared no time in explaining. Instead, she moved like clockwork to her bookshelf, where a worn red spine stood out amid the other, thicker novels. Pulling it from the shelf, she held it up for Jareth to see the silvery words _The Labyrinth_ upon the cover. "Before you ask, _yes _I've tried everything. If I burn it, it shows up on my shelf a moment later. If I give it away, I'll find it in my bag or beside my bed when I get home. I threw it into the ocean a few years back, and it was in my car as soon as I went to drive away. For seven whole years this book hasn't left me alone." Putting the book back on the table, Sarah could only shake her head at it and sigh. "If it was your idea of a memento, it's a really shitty one. A little too on the nose for symbolism too- you just _had_ to enchant the one reminder of everything I wanted to forg-"

"_I_ had nothing to do with this," Jareth interrupted softly, the edge gone from his words. Sarah noted that he had gone pale as he gazed at the red cover. "That magic is not mine."

"What...what's that supposed to mean?"

"It means exactly what I say: I did not put magic on your book." Jareth stepped forward, leaning past her to touch the spine with his long, spindly fingers. "I never noticed it last night," he continued in a near whisper, "but there's powerful magic in this book. Perhaps whoever enchanted it is connected to the troubles of the Underground."

"That doesn't make any sense; it's been at my side since I brought Toby back. Who else could have enchanted it? You're the only one with the magic gazing balls, unless some goblin in your kingdom took up lessons."

He never replied, still fixated on the red book and lost in thought. Sarah and tried another tactic. "Okay, weird book voodoo aside, weren't we supposed to be heading out? Or do I have time to brush my teeth, shower, do some basic human things?"

This seemed to break Jareth out of his trance, causing him to clear his throat and straighten back up once more. "I've been generous with allowing you to remain here overnight, but my domain and my patience are running out of time."

"You had seven years to take care of this shit," she grumbled, "and you're only just _now_ worried about urgency? Do I need to pack or something before I go running off with His Royal Asshole to save his world?"

Sarah enjoyed the flash of anger that briefly broke Jareth's otherwise impeccable mask of indifference. Perhaps the comment was petty, but given that the subject of years of therapy had upended her life in less than half a day, she deserved a moment of pettiness. His anger faded back to that stone-cold glare she knew all too well, and he surveyed the room intently, ripping his gaze from hers once more. "Do you still have that bedroom mirror from seven years ago?"

"Are you _seriously_ trying to check your reflection right now?"

"Do you have it?"

Apparently, he was done answering her questions. "What mirror are you talking about?"

"Don't play coy with me. If you kept it all these years instead of throwing it away, it may make traveling a bit easier."

Ah. _That _mirror. Originally, Sarah wanted to be rid of it due to the memories it held- the vanity that housed the mirror served as a shrine to her mother once, brimming with newspaper clippings of a smiling, successful actress. After the Labyrinth, however, it became something else: a link to the beings she had befriended back in the fantastical realm, and whom she conversed with on occasion. The more she attended therapy, however, the less she felt the need to call upon her companions, and the more the mirror became just an ordinary mirror in her mind...a mirror that now resided in her bedroom.

"I have it," she sighed, "it's in my bedroom. Why can't we just...I don't know, _poof _into the Labyrinth, like before? Use your magic juggling balls to warp us somewhere?"

"I could," came the curt reply, as he turned in the direction of her room, "but under the circumstances, this will be less...taxing." He strode into her room, with Sarah on his heels as she silently hoped he would not touch anything.

It was almost comedic to see the Goblin King standing in her bedroom, brilliant against the surrounding mundane nature of her life. Thankfully, he ignored the piles of clothing strewn about her space, and did not sneer at the dog-eared, paperback romance novel sitting on her nightstand. Instead, he stood silently beside the rickety vanity, which needed a new coating of paint and perhaps a good sanding. His attention never wavered from the mirror, as he asked, "Is this it?"

"Yes? I really don't understand why you need it. You came here on your own without it- how else did you get into my apartment?"

"Does it really matter? This is the easiest way to return to the Underground, and if you truly want to help your friends, you can simply call on them. Or have you decided to continue to forget about them?"

She wanted to slap that smug superiority right off his face. "I didn't forget about them," she argued, although she could hear her own uncertainty. "I just..."

"Put them out of mind? Removed them from your _normal_ life?"

This time, his honesty cut her deeper than she expected. She had done what was best for herself at the time, but he was right- she had left those crucial friends behind in the process. "Look," she sighed, willing herself to overcome both hangover and exhaustion, "I did try to leave all this behind, but I don't want people to get hurt because of that. Tell me what to do so I can make things right this time."

Jareth swept an arm towards the mirror, his eyes never leaving hers. "Call upon your friends. Simply...say your right words, precious."

Even though he stood back to make room for her, Sarah still felt as if Jareth was unnaturally close. His reflection stood nearly out of view, his face appearing much more gaunt and haggard than she recalled from last night. She had taken his explanation of lacking magic as a poor excuse to get into her room, but perhaps there was some truth to the statement. She of course hardly looked any better, with dark rings under her eyes and a returning headache that had plagued her for days.

For a moment, staring at herself in the mirror, she thought of when she had sat beside this mirror seven years before, lost in dreams of future grandeur, or in a celebratory mood as she spoke with her Underground friends. That Sarah felt like a stranger, with her naivety and her dreamy smile. Perhaps she was never real after all; perhaps all this was her crumbling sanity delving back to those halcyon days of youth.

"Oh Hoggle," she heard herself whisper, as the words slipped out before she could rein them back, "I wish I knew how to help you."

Something flickered in the corner of her vision, something that disappeared when she attempted to focus upon it. A crackling sound, reminiscent of breaking ice, erupted in her ears, and she swore that the glass rippled before her. Sarah rubbed her eyes, but her reflection within the mirror began to blur like watercolors gone runny. If she squinted hard enough, she swore that she could make out abstracts of greens and browns and whites, perhaps a small form crouched before her eyes.

Behind her, she heard the sound of Jareth's nails dig into the veneer of her dresser, as though whatever was going on was taking some form of exertion from him. She did not turn around to see, but could feel him shadowing her. His reflection and her own were gone now, swept up in the darkened colors that, as she watched, began to solidify into something more recognizable: tall hedges, a cottage, the backdrop of an orange sky. Her breath caught in her throat. Tentatively, she leaned forward, peering into the tumultuous landscape.

Before she could utter another word or even think, Sarah found herself in freefall. She braced to bump her head on the glass, but instead she kept going, tumbling end over end as if falling down a hole. Her bedroom fell away, the comforting familiarity traded in for a whirlwind of colors and ringing in her ears. _It's like Alice in Wonderland, _she thought, _except I don't think this is a story, and I'm not going to meet any talking rabbits...hopefully. _She wanted, _needed_ to scream, to release the absolute terror that coalesced in her lungs and suffocated her from the inside out. Yet, the scream never came, and just as suddenly as she had fallen, she found herself kneeling on brittle, frosted grass.

For a moment, she sat stunned. It was as if she were still dreaming.

Before her stood tall hedges, looming upwards towards the orange sky streaked through with red clouds. The once evergreen leaves were a multitude of browns and grays now, which rustled as a sticky breeze swept through. The cold temperature of her dreamt-up Labyrinth carried over to the waking world, raising the hairs on her arms as she involuntarily shivered like the dry leaves. Even the grass under her feet looked to be on the brink of death with a sickly yellow hue. Off in the distance, Sarah could see a castle that loomed menacingly, and upon sighting it her heart nearly stopped.

The Castle Beyond the Goblin Kingdom was still formidable, even at a distance. From this far back, at the beginning of the Labyrinth, she could still see that the exterior crumbled in places, and that one of the towers looked to have collapsed.

She couldn't breathe. It felt as if there was something caught in her throat, as if her own body was choking her from within with fear. That had been the final battleground, where through dangers untold she had accomplished the impossible and swore to never go back.

A dull thud sounded beside her, and Sarah turned to find a small red book sitting primly next to her. If there were any lingering doubts as to where Sarah was, _The Labyrinth_'s miraculous appearance quickly banished them. She felt faint as her stomach lurched traitorously, and she clapped a shaking hand over her mouth to keep from screaming or throwing up, both of which seemed suddenly possible.

"Well?" The Goblin King spoke, barely audible over her beating heart. "Did I not warn you that things had changed?"

* * *

**Apologies for the delay in updating- I wanted to hold off on publishing updates in order to focus on my thesis proposal, but since I'm waiting to hear back on that now, I can devote a little extra time to writing. This update ended up being a monstrous 10k words until I split it in half, so this chapter serves more for setting up some pieces and getting people where they need to be. The next chapter should provide a little more action, as well as introduce a few characters that should be quite familiar! **

**A quick thank you to the reviewers thus far, and a special thanks to the guest reviewer who mentioned the Rancho. I actually still keep in daily contact with a majority of the folks on there, and this chapter would not be possible without two of them, who (despite knowing very little about _Labyrinth_) took the time to read and pass on some advice. LadyPaprika and StarshipArtisan, thanks for putting up with my ramblings.**

**Until next time. **


	3. Down in the Underground

"Well? Did I not warn you that things had changed?"

Sarah had not noticed Jareth leaning nonchalantly against a withered tree, but seeing him now robbed her of breath. Gone was his relaxed look, replaced with the imposing black armor she had last seen in their first encounter. His cape pooled down his shoulders and snapped in the breeze, catching stray leaves in its fabric grasp, and his sickle-shaped pendant hung loose on his neck, glinting in the pale light of day. Despite his posture, he still held himself as if coiled, and ready to strike at any moment, and she could not help but shiver as she rose to her feet. This was the Goblin King that she couldn't escape for seven years, the one that haunted the back of her mind during her waking hours. Here he was something dangerous, a nightmare made flesh and bone.

Perhaps conscious of her eyes upon him, he gave no indication that something was amiss, except to quirk an eyebrow at her as he awaited her shaky response. She took several deep breaths to quell her panic, and drew out a question from her jumbled thoughts. "What just... happened back there, with the mirror?"

"I thought that was fairly obvious: you said the right words and let us through. I merely gave the mirror a...push, so to speak. Although why you chose to direct us to the very beginning of the Labyrinth is beyond me."

"Ah right, because I obviously would have known how to change destination via _mirror travel_. It's not like I do this every day." She folded her arms as she grumbled, "Besides, you're the one who can teleport and fly places—getting to where you want to go should be a piece of cake."

"Not everything is 'a piece of cake,' my dear," Jareth smugly noted, turning her own phrase against her. "Especially not seven years later. You'll find that things are a bit different around here. A bit more..." Surprisingly, he ceased speaking to focus on a stray brittle leaf from the tree. A frown crossed his face as he rolled it gently between his fingers, watching as it ground to dust and floated to the ground below.

"It does look different," she conceded after a moment of silence between them. Her eyes alighted once more on the castle in the distance. "It feels different too, I guess. Almost as if something is missing."

"The magic is leaving the Underground—all that is left now is the shell, a skeleton of what once was here before you made your choice." The Goblin King glared at her momentarily, as if she were somehow to blame. "Soon, even that too will fade."

"You realize I didn't _want_ to destroy your kingdom, right? I just wanted my brother back."

"All actions have consequences, precious."

Sarah threw up her hands with an exasperated sigh. "I was sixteen! I could only think about not being grounded for making my brother disappear, not my environmental impact on a _magical kingdom_." She pushed aside her trembling inner voice screaming at her to back down. "Look, I get it; you don't want me here because I ruined all your fun, and I _really_ don't want to be back here. We made a deal though, and I intend to stick to my end of the bargain, then we can go our separate ways."

Sarah marched up to Jareth, ignoring the fact that she only came up to his chest as she squared her shoulders and met him with her own piercing gaze.

"I'm not here as some conquering hero," she muttered, "and I'm not here to be the villain. I'm here to save my friends, and you can either work with me or let me do it by myself. If you're so keen on making sure this place sticks around, then help me."

A year of working with children had led to Sarah perfecting what many called her "teacher voice," a tone that, while not loud, commanded attention through intensity. Among students, it was a powerful way of enforcing herself; among Goblin Kings, it seemed to produce the same effect.

He stared down at her in silence, before drawing out a long sigh. "Very well," he said, no ounce of poise lost in his words, "although you placing us here, as far as possible from our goal, does strike me as suspicious."

"It wasn't intentional, I just..." Something had nagged at the back of Sarah's mind from the moment of returning to the Labyrinth, something that slipped fishlike through her thoughts when she tried to grasp at it. Why choose the start of the maze? She had said the right words, but whatever she said never included being here. No, she said something else—she had _wished _for something else. Gazing out at the maze, the lingering memory of her dream roared to the surface of her thoughts, and the revelation struck her with sudden clarity.

Her dream had somehow become reality.

Jareth might have questioned where she was going, or muttered a snide comment, but Sarah paid him no mind. Instead, she moved towards the Labyrinth with rising fear. Everything was deja vu, every step and every brush against dead or dying branches, as she felt herself be drawn through the twists and turns down the hill. Her pace picked up into a jog, and then a run, and suddenly she felt as if she was fifteen and racing against the clock, vainly searching this time not for a brother she neglected, but for a friend instead. _Don't tell me I'm too late_, Sarah thought, _I told him I was coming, I promised, please don't let me be late. Let it be a dream, let me still be dreaming_.

Skidding around a corner and nearly losing her footing on a patch of frosted grass, Sarah gave a wordless cry at the familiar sight of the small pond and the crumbling walls that made up the entrance to the Labyrinth. The pond was nearly devoid of water, with only a few scattered puddles lining the cracked muddy pond bottom. Withered tufts of grass grew haphazardly around the space in front of two large doors, which had long since come off their rusted hinges. There was no fluttering of fairy wings this time, nor puffs of smoke as Hoggle annihilated the fairy race. None of her surroundings mattered much at the moment, none of it drew her eye or evoked surprise.

All she could see was the hunched-over form in front of the doors. A very familiar, short form.

"_Hoggle_!"

The little dwarf raised his head, steadying himself against the splintered wood. He was older than she remembered him, with a few more warts on his face and with less hair on his bald head. He dropped his can with a clatter, slumped over in wide-eyed shock, his mouth wordlessly forming her name. As she drew closer, he began to tremble. "You...you came back. You're actually you, you're actually _here_." With what could have been a sob, or a cry of pain, he stumbled forward into Sarah, who barely had time to catch him from falling to the ground.

"I'm really here, Hoggle." She held him close and noticed how cold and frail her old friend was. "I should have called for you and Sir Didymus and Ludo. I had no idea, I'm sor—"

"You didn't know," Hoggle wheezed as he cut her off, "you've nothin' to be sorry about. It ain't your fault, Sarah." His eyes widened as he asked, "How did you get here? Don't tell me that rat of a Goblin King dragged you down here. I'll kick him straight to the Bog...well, eventually."

Despite the seriousness of the moment, she couldn't help but laugh at his attempt at protecting her- a quality not lost after seven years. "Well, he didn't drag me here, but he did ask me to help stop everyone from..." Her voice trailed off, but the thought of her friend's end hung unspoken between them. She spoke again, softer and solemnly this time. "Hoggle, you need help."

"Can't be helped. I've already resigned myself to fading away, there's nothing anyone can do. This sort of thing is happening to everyone. It's my turn now, I suppose."

"There _has_ to be a way to help," Sarah cried, biting back her frustration as she looked around and saw the Goblin King nowhere in sight. "Maybe Jareth can—"

Hoggle's hand closed around her wrist, cutting off her words. "His Majesty has bigger things to worry about than an old dwarf. The entire Labyrinth needs him to keep the Underground alive." His clouded eyes began to lose focus. "I am glad I got to see ye one last time, Sarah."

He grew colder in her lap as his breathing became ragged, and Sarah drew him closer to her in an attempt to provide him warmth. It was all she could do to help him, a meager gesture considering all he had done for her in her time of need. If she was somehow still dreaming, the dream had become a nightmare before her very eyes. She could not contain the choked sob that burst from her throat, or the flood of emotions that followed its expulsion.

Behind her came the sound of footsteps, heavy on the frosted grass. Sarah turned to peer up at Jareth looming over her. On his face was the same expression she saw earlier, when he had crumpled dying leaves into dust before his eyes. He spoke not a word to her, his attention fixed upon Hoggle's pale figure. The only sound, for what felt like an eternity, was that of her dying companion.

Then, breaking the stillness, Sarah held up Hoggle to the Goblin King, unable to look away as her hands shook ever so slightly. "Please."

She did not have to clarify, nor did Jareth ask her to. Hoggle groaned as Jareth gently took him, reminding Sarah of how he had held Toby seven years prior. That memory alone nearly sent her careening away from the armored man, but she stayed still. She could feel something heavy in the air as Jareth looked to the dwarf, something akin to the pressure before an oncoming storm. The sensation briefly pushed back the chill, making her shiver involuntarily as her hair stood on end.

The Goblin King paid her no mind, and she watched as he conjured a crystal out of nothing and winced slightly as he rolled it across his fingers. His eyes looked to be glowing in the crystal's reflection, and a strange breeze ruffled his cape in the otherwise-still air. As quickly as it had appeared, the crystal dropped from his grasp, exploding in a cloud of glitter over a gasping Hoggle as the air felt cold once more, and the pressure abated. _Magic_, Sarah realized, _that was actual, real magic. _

Magic, it seemed, had a price. While Jareth had been better than he had been in her apartment, he now looked absolutely exhausted. His skin was paler than Hoggle's and there were bags under his eyes, giving him a weathered look. She noticed that his gloved hands shook too as he handed her back her friend, who appeared to sleep soundly now that whatever magic had set in.

"Is he...are you...?"

With a groan, the Goblin King leaned against the broken door next to Sarah, barely able to support himself from sliding to the ground. "Fine. Hogwash has...extra time. Not a cure but..." There it was again, the same look of concern and despondence as he answered her. "...but it's the best I can do." He leaned his head back against the wood, and closed his eyes with a groan.

Sarah looked down at Hoggle, at a loss for words for a moment as she let Jareth catch his breath. Finally, she whispered out, "Thank you."

This made him open his eyes, as if the thanks were something he was never expecting to hear. "You're welcome. We have a deal, as you reminded me, and I'm not one to break my word." He winced, however. "It may be the last magic I can do for some time."

The Goblin Castle loomed in the distance, and Sarah knew from experience that it was possible to get there within the span of the day. However, Jareth's pale complexion looked worse by the minute, and a part of her wondered if he'd be able to make it even a small distance on his own. She had no idea if she could support him and Hoggle for such a distance, especially if they ran into the same trials and traps that plagued her prior experience.

"Lady Sarah!"

Perhaps she was hallucinating, but Sarah swore she heard someone call out her name, accompanied by the sound of far-off barking. There was nothing around that she could surmise as the source of the exclamation until she heard the sound of rapid running and crunching leaves. Suddenly, from around the corner of a wall came a shaggy sheepdog, one that reminded her of her childhood dog, Merlin. Upon the canine's back sat a small fox, clothed in a myriad of colorful fabrics and a floppy hat. His whiskers were raised in surprise as his mount let out a cacophony of woofs. As he drew closer she could see that the fuzzy figure, apart from some extra grey around his muzzle, was immediately recognizable. "Sir Didymus! Ambrosius!"

Sir Didymus, brave knight of the Underground, brought Ambrosius to a halt in front of the group. "Oh, my dear lady," he cried as Ambrosius snuffled happily at her feet, "'Tis wonderful to see thy lovely face again!" Upon spying Hoggle, his expression grew grim. "I was coming to see Master Hoggle when I heard thy voice. It seems thou knows of his grim condition."

"He looks better than when I saw him," Sarah replied as she repositioned Hoggle in her arms to hopefully make him more comfortable. "What happened to him? Has he been like this for long?"

From beside her, Jareth let out a weak chuckle. "It is as I told you: everything is fading away, much like Hogswitch here."

Sir Didymus jumped at the sound of his monarch's voice, and quickly gave a bow. "Your Majesty! A thousand pardons for not seeing thou—"

"I'll make an exception for the lack of decorum," Jareth interrupted, "since I lack the energy to bog anyone." He tilted his head at that moment, eyes focusing off into the distance at something Sarah could not see. "Ah. There she is." He staggered to his feet with the knight at his side to softly encourage him, and Sarah carefully did the same with Hoggle in her arms. Motion out of the corner of her eye caught her attention before she could ask for an explanation of who Jareth referred to.

There was a single, vertical white line in the air a few feet away, rising from the dirt to roughly her height as it shimmered before her. As she watched, a new line shot out of the old at the top, creating a right angle, almost as if someone had drawn an upside-down L from out of nowhere. After a moment, the horizontal line's movement ceased, and a second vertical line swooped downward to touch the ground. The space in between the unfinished rectangle wavered, and morphed into a white light. She recognized it as some sort of doorway, but its appearance did not faze Jareth or Sir Didymus.

"Did you call upon her, Sire? "Sir Didymus said.

"No, but she knows. Head through, and let her know I return with one in need."

Sir Didymus gave another bow, stepping forward and motioning to his sheepdog to follow through. Ambrosius barked happily and Sarah saw a familiar red volume had ended up peeking out of a compartment in his saddlebag. With so much changed, it was a small relief to have the consistent presence of her book nearby. Before she could comment on it, Ambrosius and Didymus walked into the light and disappeared.

"Go on," Jareth said, "no danger lies on the other side."

Still, she hesitated. "Where does it go?"

"Someplace familiar." He made an attempt to smile despite his condition. "You were never one for caution, precious. I almost miss your stubbornness."

She rolled her eyes, muttering "still not your precious" under her breath as she stepped forward towards and through the doorway.

The sensation of going from here to there felt jolting, like an electric shock in an ice-cold bath. It was not unpleasant, but different, unexpected, and unanticipated. Sun became shadow, frost became warmth, and the outside world of the Underground became the throne room of Jareth's castle as Sarah blinked the blinding light from her eyes. Candles and torches littered the space, casting a flickering light that danced against the stone walls and illuminated the leering stone goblin heads. The same light also revealed dozens of goblins, lining the walls and strewn across the feathered-covered floor. Some were paler than others, and some barely stood on their own, supported by one or two other goblins or peering up from the pit in the middle of the room where they lay piled against each other. All of them stared at her in silence, as if their own eyes could not believe what they were seeing, as if they were turned to stone to match the heads above them. She had never heard the goblins so silent before, nor had she seen them so still.

Sarah nearly concluded time had stopped altogether, until Sir Didymus cleared his throat and caught her attention. He stood a little further away from her, and as her eyes alighted on his comforting form, they drifted to the person who stood beside him.

A woman stood at Sir Didymus' side, a woman who—much to Sarah's shock—appeared absolutely human. From outward appearances she could have been a little older than Sarah, with rich red hair that curled around her shoulders and neck. Her clothing, however, confused the image, as she was dressed in an embroidered pink dress like a character in a period piece, or a perfect porcelain doll. The only flaw to be seen was a smudge of chalk upon her cheek, which rested like war paint on her face. Combined with her folded arms and the piercing gleam in her eyes, she made for a very imposing figure. Something about her stance felt familiar, however, although there was nothing to provide the kickstart needed to give her clarity. This was the "she" Jareth had mentioned? What was she to him—a runner, perhaps, who had fallen for his drugged dreams? One who had accepted his desire to be feared and loved?

As if well aware of the attention she was under, the mysterious woman spoke, her voice reminiscent of birds in flight as they dipped and weaved upon the air. "You look terrible."

Sarah heard a wheeze of a laugh from behind her, and turned to see Jareth lounged in his throne, his legs hanging over one of the arms as he put on a grin that was more pain than pleasure. " I _feel_ terrible, but your doorway saved me from a far worse outcome. Magic needed to be done. She would only come if I helped her friends, ergo..." He gestured vaguely at Sarah and Hoggle, as if their presence was plenty of justification.

"Yet, it cost you." The woman looked from Jareth to Sarah again, her expression softening slightly. "Something tells me," she murmured, "that this may have been worth the cost."

She took a step forward towards Sarah, who took a step back and instinctively cradled Hoggle closer. This woman may have been a pretty young thing, but nothing in the Labyrinth was ever what it seemed. However, her proximity did make one thing abundantly clear. "You're human," Sarah blurted out, and then winced at her lack of tact.

The woman only chuckled, seemingly not insulted or confused by her outburst. "And _you_ are Sarah Williams," she replied with a warm smile. "I've heard much about you. I can promise that no hard will come to you and your friends while you are here. He does, however, need to rest, and I can make sure Sir Didymus finds him a place to do so comfortably."

After hesitating, Sarah reluctantly passed Hoggle to the woman, noting how she effortlessly took him into a position like that of a small child, despite his unwieldy size. The woman bent to whisper in Sir Didymus' ear, who nodded at her quiet words. The entire court, Goblin King included, watched as she placed Hoggle on Ambrosius' back, and as the dog was led away by the knight.

"He'll get a good meal when he awakens," the woman mused to Sarah as they watched the sheepdog ferry the dwarf down the hall. "Once he awakens, I can let you know so you can visit him."

Sarah had no idea what to say, but knew politeness tended to be the best course of action for such situations. "Thank you."

"But of course. I know how important friends can be down here in the Underground." Once more the woman looked toward Jareth's direction, her brow furrowing in concern. "You too should rest and regain what power you can. The Labyrinth will still stand even if you give a moment to yourself."

"Normally I'd argue with you," said the ailing Goblin King, "but as usual, you are correct. First, however, I believe introductions are in order." He rose with grace from his throne, a motion Sarah suspected was one he perfected long ago. For a moment, she could forget his pain and see him as she did earlier, as the proud and pompous king of the Labyrinth, manipulator of wishes and perpetrator of trickery.

Then, an epiphany. Jareth's familiarity with this woman extended to his language, and from their conversations so far, it sounded less like the relationship of lovers and more like...

"This," Jareth spoke as he moved past Sarah to place a hand on the woman's shoulder, "is Maria Tyton, She of the Unvanquished Heart, member of the Goblin Rebellion, Runner of the Labyrinth, Defeater of the Owl King...and my mother." Patting her shoulder, the man meandered out of the room, and the eyes of his subjects followed him until he left their view.

Maria sighed with a shake of her head, sending red curls flying. "I think," she said as she caught Sarah's open-mouthed state of shock, "we have a lot that needs to be discussed. I'd offer tea, but something tells me we may need wine for this conversation."

Wordlessly, Sarah nodded and fell into step beside Jareth's mother, who nodded to the goblins around them and made for the door of the throne room. She caught the eye of a goblin near the door, whose yellow eyes widened at her attention. The round, stout figure gave a small bow, and she could've sworn he muttered the word "Lady" in reverence. The sound of shuffling behind her made her turn her neck and catch a glimpse of all the goblins bowing, even those who were barely able to stand. All of them stared at her, not with malice, but with something close to worship, or maybe even fear. She swallowed at the sight, and their murmurings of her name continued to echo in her ear as she rounded the corner and left the throne room altogether.

* * *

**The trope of Jareth having a mother is one that many have done before me, but as far as I can tell, few have incorporated Maria, the main character from the comic series _Labyrinth: Coronation_. The entire 12-part series is such a fascinating prequel to the film, and I love the ending because...well, I won't give it away, but it offers me a great deal of flexibility. I'll be delving into her character in a bit more detail in the next chapter, so no need to worry if you're not familiar with her or the comic she stems from. Explanations will come, and our adventure will begin in earnest- these early chapters I consider to be the setup needed to get all of our cast in place for what will come to pass. Will other characters from the prequel make appearances? Perhaps.**

**Thank you to the readers and reviewers thus far who have enjoyed the adventure, and a special thanks to Tune4Toons, who beta'd this chapter for me. She was one of the first individuals I met on this site in 2011, and her guidance and advice led me to become a better writer.**

** I wanted to post something before the end of what has been a very tumultuous year, and I look forward to continuing this fanfic into 2020, and hopefully garner more readership along the way. I'm gearing up to write my masters thesis, so I'm unsure when I'll get the next update out. But mark my words, it WILL be out.**

**Until next time.**


	4. She with the Unvanquished Heart

Mothers were a mystery to Sarah.

Her track record with mother figures in her life was lacking, as her therapy sessions had led her to realize. There was her own mother, a woman she now saw only in tabloids or the occasional film preview. The last communication the two had was a congratulatory card for her college graduation, penned by her publicist and containing a small amount of cash. Her mother had become a stranger, someone she never spoke of even when her friends gushed over seeing her latest film venture.

Then there was Karen, her stepmother, a woman with whom she had an uneasy truce since her return from the Labyrinth. Teenage Sarah saw her as a villain, but the older she grew, the more she understood the woman's protective attitude and awkward attempts to bond with her new stepdaughter. Apart from once a week when she briefly spoke to Karen and her father after returning Toby home, she never interacted with the older woman. Neither seemed to mind, enjoying instead to keep their relationship politely distant.

Thus, Sarah was utterly out of her element while sitting in front of Maria. The woman barely looked older than she did, and yet was the mother of the last person she suspected to have _any_ family altogether. The two had made it down the hall and into a room resembling some kind of library, based on the floor-to-ceiling shelves of books that lined the room. The furthest wall from the door was graced with a window facing the Labyrinth, and if she squinted, Sarah swore she could see the very hill that marked her earlier entrance into the Underground. Two wine-red baroque couches occupied the middle of the candlelit room, with a solid, knee-high oak table between them to create a much-needed buffer zone.

The two women took a seat on the opposing couches, each eyeing the other without a word. After a moment, Maria leaned forward and moved a hand in the air in front of her quickly, as if drawing something. As Sarah watched, a white glowing line trailed from her fingertips in the shape of two wine glasses and a long-necked wine bottle, before all three shapes shone, much like the doorway from earlier. Then, they were simply there: two empty glasses, and a green glass bottle that Maria picked up and examined with pursed lips.

"It's strange," she murmured as she turned the bottle to see the label, "I can make the wine, but the year is always out of my control." She wiped what Sarah swore was chalk dust off her fingertips, then poured red wine into each glass and handed one to Sarah with a smile. "So. I suspect you have questions."

Mothers were a mystery to Sarah. Mothers with magical powers, with magical sons? Perhaps even more of a mystery.

Despite feeling out of her depth, Sarah's first question came easily. "What year is the wine?"

Maria blinked, then let out a hearty laugh. "Now I understand what my son meant when he said you were different from the others. This vintage is from 1799, a year of much significance."

"Oh?"

"It was the year my son was born."

Silence. Sarah took a long sip from her glass. Then another. Maria handed her the bottle without comment as she poured a refill, then thought better of drinking it. "Okay," sighed Sarah, "so when you say 'your son,' you're talking about...you mean Jareth is..."

"Nearly two hundred years old, yes. Although it feels like he was a baby only yesterday."

"You're human though. I mean, not to be rude, but you both look..." Sarah gestured at Maria in exasperation. "Well, you look younger than_ him_. How the hell did that happen? How can you just...poof things into existence? If you have magic, can't you just set everything right?" Her voice went higher, the questions piling up one after another as she frantically tried to wrap her mind around every new development. "Why am _I _even here—I can't do magic, I can't cure my friends, I barely managed to make it through the Labyrinth the _first_ time I was here!"

Exhausted, Sarah slumped back on the couch, as Maria raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps it would be easiest," she murmured, "to start with the simplest questions." She lifted her free hand in examination, curling her fingers to peek at her cuticles. "You noted before that I was human, and you are correct. However, the Labyrinth leaves its marks on those that race against it, and in my case, I developed my own kind of power. I can reshape what is around me, encourage it to be something different than before—nothing on the level of my son, but something that is uniquely my own. It's a reminder of my time here, and of my earlier adventure and failure."

The names and titles Jareth had rattled off rang through Sarah's mind. "Wait, but Jareth called you a Runner of the Labyrinth."

"He did, and he was correct. It was a different landscape then, one more dangerous than the land my son took over. I raced against time, through dangers untold, and with my power as great as the one who had upended my life. But, I am simply a Runner, not a Champion like you. Despite all I went through, despite the power I found to fight for my child, despite destroying the Owl King and leading the goblins in rebellion...I failed."

At this point, Sarah felt like she fought the hydra of Greek legend—for every question she asked, two more sprung up in its place. "Okay, I feel like I'm missing some major information here. You're telling me that the Goblin King, _your son_, was wished away? I always thought he just...I don't know, popped out of the ground. What even is he—human? Some kind of Fae?" A laugh forced its way out of her throat. "I mean, for crying out loud, how is he _British_?"

His mother's only response was to shrug. "He's Jareth. There is simply no one quite like him, in your world or in the Underground."

The point she made was fair, and Sarah listened in silence as the redhead continued. "Neither of us are from this world—I grew up in Venice as a maid before I met my husband. Days back then were filled with parties and dreams, and I had everything I ever wanted. Yet, the love of my life believed that we would lose all we had, and worried over the tarnishing of his family name." She paused to smirk at a memory only she could see. "I see much of him in my son: both have such passion and pride in their family, and in who they are. My husband was the one who made that fateful wish, and I decided to run the Labyrinth for the life of my child. The ruler at the time was..."

She trailed off, causing Sarah to prompt her with the name Jareth had mentioned before. "The Owl King, right?"

"Yes, a terrible goblin of great power, one who was twisted and scheming in a way that had become the norm. But it would take time to tell of all that occurred with him. What is important is that the clock struck thirteen, and Jareth had to remain despite the defeat of the Owl King. Thus, I stayed with my child and built my own dream to reside in." Maria swirled the wine in her glass, lost in memory as the red liquid whirled. "Now the dream I hold is fading, and if it goes, I'll lose everything I've ever loved."

With a heavy clunk, she placed her wine glass on the table and leaned forward to fix Sarah with a hard gaze. The resemblance between herself and her son was suddenly uncanny. "We _need_ you, Sarah, because you are _not_ me, and you are not my son. I cannot reshape the Labyrinth to match the rate of what is being lost, and Jareth finds his own powers slipping away day by day. You are the only individual who has ever won, and at this point, we have no other option left but to ask for your help. It is all we can do now."

Again the silence returned, but tension hung heavy in the air. The wine, despite the quality, went untouched. Sarah took care in the words she uttered. "What do you need me to do?"

"In a way, you need to do what you did the first time: go to the center of the Labyrinth."

"But I thought this _was_ the center!"

"Once it was, but things change. Your victory flipped this world into something completely different, and now the Labyrinth is larger, perhaps more treacherous than ever before. My son mentioned to me that he believes the center of the Labyrinth is where whatever is causing this trouble lies. Perhaps with your companions, you can once more find the center."

Sarah looked briefly out the window, considering this information. "What about you? If you come with me, I won't have to worry about my friends...well, I guess I won't have to worry about them ending up like Hoggle."

"I wish I could, but the goblins listen to me," said Maria. "Freeing them from a tyrant earned me their respect, although I cannot strike fear into them like my son can. With him needing his rest, there must be someone present to keep things in order. Plus, my days of adventuring are over. This is your adventure, dear. All I ask is that you go forward with the same stubborn attitude that won you back your brother."

What could she say? There was no going back at this point when she had already come so far. Her therapist had always suggested confronting her problems head-on, but Sarah felt that this was a much too literal interpretation of that idea. Still...she thought of Hoggle, pale and weak in her arms, forgiving her for neglecting the friendship that had helped her get her brother back. _Shit_, she thought, _I really did just use him to get what I want and then cut him from my life. _"I already agreed I'd help," she finally replied, "and I already made a deal with Jareth over coming back here. It's just...look, you're very nice and I know you mean well, but I'm not the same girl I was seven years ago. I'm a grown woman now, and I have a hard time believing in magic or wishes or anything of the sort. Honestly, I don't know what I'll be able to do to help you."

"I think you're underestimating yourself." Maria stood and smoothed the creases of her dress, frowning as she brushed more stray chalk dust from the silk. "If you weren't the same girl, you would never have come back here in the first place. Perhaps the person you think you are isn't really you, but the other one—the person you keep telling yourself you're not."

The sun outside had begun to dip below the distant hills, painting the sky a brilliant rose. Sarah suddenly felt exhausted, as if the day had gone on for far too long. Her companion too looked as tired as she felt, and mentioned something about her staying in the castle for the night, which Sarah partly heard and nodded in acceptance. However, as Maria went to open the door, Sarah felt one last question blare through her weary mind. "Maria, what's wrong with Jareth?"

Maria froze, fingertips inches from the doors to the small library, her back awash in sunset. There was tension in her shoulders, the rigid stance at odds with her cheery pronouncement. "Nothing of great concern—the fading of magic just makes his ruling difficult. He simply needs to rest."

As she left the room, Sarah could not decide if she was lying to her, or lying to herself.

The two made their way down another hallway, one that like the rest of the castle felt old and on the verge of collapse. Seven years ago, Sarah raced through the place without an eye for the architecture, but now it reminded her of something out of a Gothic novel. The place was cold, with no trappings to provide any semblance of warmth or personality to the space—clearly, its occupants had no eye for interior decorating. Goblins scurried by every once in a while, most pausing to take in Sarah with their bulbous eyes. Their usual cackling and chaotic nature disappeared. Instead, these goblins were solemn, to an unnerving extent. Things had changed in the Underground, and so far not for the better.

Rounding a corner, Maria stopped short at the sight of Sir Didymus and Ambrosius, with the latter bounding up to Sarah and bounding around in circles at her feet. As she reached down to give him scratches behind his ear, she heard Didymus remark, "If I may, Lady Maria, I can happily escort the Lady Sarah to her room. It will be a delight to catch up on things."

"That will be fine. I'm off in that case to check on His Majesty. Once he rests, he will provide more guidance to you than I ever could." Maria turned to Sarah, taking her hands in farewell. "It is truly wonderful to meet you, dear Champion," she said, "especially after all I've been told about you." Without another word, she began to make her way down the hall.

Didymus waited until she had turned a corner before he let out a heavy sigh. "My Lady," he said, "Thy presence is a needed balm in these trying times."

"It's good to see you too, Didymus. Things have definitely been crazy." As she followed a bounding Ambrosius down the hallway, she could not help but laugh. "Just yesterday I was celebrating the end of my first school year and looking forward to summer."

"Ah! Thou art a scholar then? One whom guides the youth?"

"Yep, I went to college and got my degree, and now I teach third grade."

Sir Didymus let out a soft "ah" and Sarah had the feeling that he understood very little of what she said. His thoughts looked to be elsewhere, judging by his twitching whiskers and his single roving eye. She did her best to allay his worry with questions of her own. "What have you been up to all this time? Do you still guard the bridge to the Bog?"

"Ah no, my role hath changed since thou last saw me. Now I am the Captain of the castle guards!" He puffed out his chest and she noted the glint of a small medal pinned to his attire. "'Tis a vital role in the Underground."

"That's amazing! I'm glad that you got that kind of promotion, especially considering...well, the fact that you helped me last time."

While their conversation had been relaxed, her companion froze the moment the words left Sarah's mouth. Ambrosius shuffled back to his rider as if he too wondered what was going on. "Yes," Didymus said, his voice oddly stiff, "nothing to worry about. All's well that ends well."

"So Jar...His Majesty wasn't angry that you helped me?"

A beat passed. "Thou will find that His Majesty is...different since thou were last here, my lady."

If there was one thing Sir Didymus was bad at doing, it was lying. Sarah remembered how squeamish he would get when handling secrets, or when orders conflicted with what he truly wanted to say. "Didymus," she softly asked, noting his increasingly guilty expression, "what aren't you telling me about the Goblin King?"

He squirmed under her gaze. "N-nothing at all, my lady. I merely noted His Majesty is not the same as before."

"Yes, but _why _is he not like before? He mentioned losing his magic, but everyone's acting like something else is going on."

In her brief time spent with the knight, she had never seen him so solemn. Even Ambrosius had the gall to whine and hang his head. "Did His Majesty or Lady Maria not mention this to thou?

"If I had a nickel for everything people left out..."

"...Yes? What about the nickels?"

"Oh, it's just an expression. I don't actually have...look, I know something's up. Maria danced around the question earlier when I asked, and you're acting too suspicious to make me think everything is normal. Even the goblins are giving me weird looks. What exactly is everyone not telling me?"

For a moment, she believed Didymus would avoid answering. His head turned, as his single eye roamed the area for signs of anyone else nearby. Seeing them alone, he sadly shook his head. "Thou should not learn this from me," he murmured, "but alas, 'tis a role I must take up. His Majesty is...failing."

He paused and looked up at her, as if the one statement was clear enough for her to understand. Sarah felt herself frown, brain working overtime to understand what the knight meant. "Wait, hold on. When you say "failing," you mean what Maria was talking about, right? Something about fading magic and losing power, and how it makes it harder for him to rule?"

Sir Didymus gave a small nod. "Indeed. With the loss of magic in the Underground, His Majesty is forced to utilize much of his energy in keeping the land and his subjects from fading. However, the ability to do so grows more difficult and more taxing with time's passing. Once His Majesty expends the last of his power in an attempt to keep the Labyrinth from further breakdown, he will fail to prevent the end...for _all_ in his kingdom."

He fell silent. Sarah realized with sudden horror what exactly Didymus refused to say. "Oh God...you mean Jareth is _dying_? If he can't figure out why wishes aren't being answered, he'll die?"

Ambrosius whined with a keen that caused Didymus to flinch before he spoke. "Yes, my lady. 'Tis something all denizens of the Labyrinth are acutely aware of, but it remains unspoken of by His Majesty. We were instructed not to breathe a word of the situation to thou."

"Why? Why act like everything's fine if it's clearly not?"

"That I do not know," admitted the knight. "If His Majesty passes, however, it will mean the instability of the Labyrinth will return. The Goblin King has been able to stop the dissolving of the land and many of its inhabitants, but it will reach the point where he will not have the power to stop it. Thus, thou arrives at a time of great uncertainty, especially with regards to the succession."

"I didn't even realize you guys had a succession," Sarah muttered. "Who's next in line in that situation?"

The fox and his dog simply stared silently at her, much like the goblins.

"What? You don't mean—"

"As the only individual to win against the Goblin King," interrupted Didymus, "the goblins believe this gives _thee _the right to the kingdom. After all, 'twas in the words thou spoke to defeat His Majesty."

"No, no, that was _not_ what I meant by 'my kingdom is as great as yours!' I meant it to get my brother back, not make myself heir apparent to a maze," she hissed in reply.

"Regardless of your personal feelings, my lady, the goblins recognize thou as the one who will become Goblin Queen should His Majesty fail. The Labyrinth must have a ruler, and thy positive reception by the denizens have superseded the only other candidate."

"Other candidate? Who's the other heir?"

"Tradition dictates that, if the Goblin King hath no children of his own to take up the throne, the last wished-away individual is named heir apparent. In this case that would be...well...Tobias Williams."

Sarah swore loudly, causing both her and her companion to jump as she clapped a hand over her mouth. They paused to look about in alarm, only relaxing after they made sure they were alone and uninterrupted once more. "_No_. Toby is only seven, _and_ I won him back. He can't rule the Underground!"

"Thus why thou art the choice made by the goblins," Didymus quietly stressed, nearly frantic with his yips. "My lady, if thou _truly _does not wish this to come to pass, then thou must help us. The goblins and I believe the end art nigh for both His Majesty and the Underground. Prove us wrong again, like thou did seven years before."

The three stood there—fox and human with the dog worriedly in between. The silence that parted their words was a heavy one, but quiet enough that Sarah felt as if her churning thoughts were practically screaming. Her headache returned as she pressed a cool palm to her rapidly warming forehead and massaged her temples. She took a breath, remembering all the years of therapy and conflict resolution sessions. The terrified Sarah would have to be pushed back for a moment in her mind, else she would cave under the pressure. Instead, she squared her shoulders and did her best to look heroic. "Sir Didymus, will you help me go to the center of the Labyrinth?"

"Journeying with thou would be the greatest honor," he replied, and she swore that his eye brimmed with tears. Ambrosius chuffed and nudged him, and he absentmindedly petted his canine steed before noting something in the saddlebag. Wordlessly he reached in and pulled out _The Labyrinth_, and held it out to her without a second thought or question.

The small tome felt heavier in Sarah's grasp, almost as if it carried the weight of its magic between its pages. "In that case," she said as she tucked the volume under her arm, "it looks like we'll be off on a real adventure tomorrow."

"Ah, delightful! I will see about preparing for such a noble quest—Hoggle should be well by morning, and I am sure he too will join! Come along, my lady—thou must rest soundly for the morrow!"

With a laugh, Sir Didymus skipped forward as Ambrosius joyfully barked, sensing perhaps his master's mood. Even Sarah failed to hold back a smile as he led her along, until with a flourish, he stopped in front of a large wooden door. Opening it, she found herself in the kind of medieval bedroom she saw only in movies, with high stone ceilings, a desk against the far window-covered wall, and a heavy four-poster bed across from a crackling fire. For a second she could imagine that she was on a European vacation, like the kind she dreamed of going on in college. The sight of the Labyrinth out the far window of the room dismissed her dream as quickly as it had come. "I'll be honest," she admitted, "everyone keeps expecting me to know how to fix everything, but I really don't know what I'm doing."

She felt a fuzzy paw pat her hand, and looked down to see the knight doing his best to comfort her. "The important thing," he said, "is that thou will not do this alone. I pledge to help however I can, my lady, until the last fight has left my body."

"Thank you, Sir Didymus, but I hope it won't come to that." Sarah gave one last scratch behind the ears to Ambrosius before bidding her friend goodnight. For the first time in what felt like a long time, she stood alone. The sparks from the fire were her only companions in the silence, and she sat on the bed—surprisingly soft and comfortable—as she stared at the flickering embers.

She was unaware of the tears that slipped down her cheeks until one breath became a shuddering sob. Clutching a hand to her mouth in horror, she let herself dissolve into emotion, and let the pent-up feelings of the day release into the room. Her therapist had stressed the importance of not bottling up emotions to her, and that sometimes having a good cry could be a productive way to let off steam. Sarah choked on a laugh at the thought, and muttered to herself, "Well Williams, you felt like something was missing from your life. Here's an adventure to keep you occupied."

This was enough to stem the tears and banish the sensation that she was in over her head—at least for the moment. Instead, she leaned back on the bed and stared up at the high ceiling. "Okay. I can do this. It's just...go through the Labyrinth again to the center and figure out why everything's going wrong. Piece of cake. Everyone thinks I can do it, otherwise they would never ask me to come back here." She laughed again to herself, realizing that in the span of a day she had learned more about the Labyrinth and its inhabitants than she had during her time within its borders half a decade before. There were too many revelations to count, and as her stomach grumbled, she realized just how tired and hungry she was.

It was then that she realized there was the smell of something delicious wafting through the room, something she had been too preoccupied to notice. Sitting up, she noted that a plate sat upon the desk near the window, with steam curling off of what looked to be chicken and vegetables. It must have been dropped off before she and Didymus arrived, but she put aside any further questions to focus on satiating her hunger. The food was filling and warm, and Sarah ate with gusto as she gazed out her window. The outside world was now bathed in darkness, to her surprise. At night, the Labyrinth looked more menacing in the shadows, but also more serene as it slumbered in peace. Much like its ruler, there was more to it than what presented itself at first glance, though Sarah felt that the landscape was more straightforward than Jareth.

Finished with her meal and lost in her thoughts, Sarah moved as if on autopilot back to her bed. Exhaustion crept over her, putting weight on her limbs and eyes as she struggled to stay afloat of the wave of sleep. The soft bedding did little to help her fight, and soon even the questions that crowded her mind subsided. Eventually, knowing the impending journey awaiting her, she surrendered herself to slumber. Yet, before she drifted off, a small part of her could not help but hope that this was all, somehow, still a dream.

* * *

_Perhaps motivated by the lingering question asked on the edge of consciousness, Sarah found herself slipping once more into a dream._

_This time, much like the last, the location was familiar yet changed: instead of the Labyrinth, she stood in a darkened ballroom. Chandeliers devoid of light hung over her head, as a pale moon illuminated their multitude of crystals. The dance floor was empty in the night, devoid of the revelers who, seven years ago, crowded her peach-induced dream of masquerade and mystery. This absence was almost more terrifying than that nightmare, for while she felt isolated before, the isolation now was altogether too real._

_It was not to last, for as Sarah began to move through the ballroom, she spied open glass doors, leading out to a balcony overlooking the Labyrinth. At its marbled railing, his back turned to her, was a familiar lean figure dressed in black. His pale hair shone nearly white in the light of the evening, moved by an invisible breeze that bestowed upon him the look of a ghost brought to the mortal plane. If he noticed her, he said nothing to explain why he stood in her dreams. _

_Perhaps, then, it was time to take initiative. "So, I hear you're dying." _

_Judging by the way Jareth started, he had not been aware of her presence after all. He still did not turn to face her, but instead she heard him chuckle. "Who was it that told you? Not my mother, I hope—although I wouldn't be surprised. She was always one to cut to the chase." _

"_Actually, Sir Didymus told me. He couldn't say why you kept it a secret." _

"_Is it a secret though? The goblins all know. My mother knows, even though I believe she is in denial over the fact."_

"_I meant why you kept it a secret from _me_."_

_Now he turned to face her, and Sarah sucked in a breath. Here in her dreams he was as she remembered—powerful, seductive, cruel. Everything about him was sharp angles, harsh lines and intense energy. She found herself drawn out of the ballroom and onto the balcony by his very stare. _

_Jareth, in response, merely curled a smile. "Why, it almost sounds as if you are _concerned_ for me." _

"_If I had known about it, I wouldn't have made you heal Hoggle—not if it meant inching your closer to death. Plus, if you go, then I'm stuck here instead, and I'm not sure I want to spend two hundred years ruling goblins."_

"_Heavy is the head that wears the crown," he laughed, for although he mocked, there was no malice behind his words. The Jareth in her dreams acted much differently than the one she encountered in her waking hours. He appeared much more easygoing, although his smile morphed into a contemplative frown. "I must warn you, however, the Labyrinth is not as it once was. While I put obstacles in your way previously, the dangers you will face now are beyond my control." _

_Sarah thought that he might actually be worried with her heading into the unknown. "Aren't you the Goblin King? Why don't you issue a decree or something, make the Labyrinth stand down?" _

"_That would require my subjects to be willing to listen to me." He turned to the Labyrinth, extending a hand to point off into the distance. "The closer to the castle, the more loyal they become. Now though, with the new areas of the Labyrinth, there are those who do not know my role here...or simply choose to ignore me and my fading power. Out there, my rule means nothing for a land untouched by wishes." _

_Perhaps her concern showed on her face, for the Goblin King glanced at her and appeared to soften in quiet contemplation. "I cannot accompany you at the moment, but I can assist in your journey." He reached back behind his head, and lifted away the glittering pendant to hold it out towards her. _

"_What is it?"_

"_A gift, nothing more...but if you turn it this way, it becomes a saving grace. Should you ever find yourself without hope or in danger, say your right words and you shall find help." _

_She wanted to remind him that this was nothing more than a dream, but something made her take his pendant in her hand. It was still warm, and she felt her own face grow heated as she held it. "Thanks. I'll try to make it back in one piece."_

"_Of that I have no doubt." Far off, Sarah swore she heard the chime of a clock, a sound that made Jareth tilt his head. "It seems our time here is drawing to a close, although I still am curious about one thing. How did you do this?" _

_The edges of her vision fuzzed, as she swore the landscape around her became gray. "Do what? You're the one who's invading my dream with creepy ballrooms." _

_The last thing she saw was Jareth's smile, pearled teeth white like the opalescent moon overhead. "How curious you are, my precious thing. I believe it is _you _who is in _my_ dream..."_

Sarah awoke nestled in covers and sheets, her bleary eyes blinking back the glaze of sleep to face the morning sunlight. The haze of her dream lingered still, and as she recalled it, she sat up in surprise.

Gripped in her fist was the golden, sickle-shaped medallion from her dream. It was still warm.

* * *

**Today would have been David Bowie's 73rd birthday, and thus a perfect day to put up a new chapter. It's also a perfect early birthday gift for myself, because my birthday is tomorrow! Can't believe I missed out on sharing a birthday with Bowie...**

**This chapter was a beast to write due to the dialogue, which I confess, has always been a weak point of mine. I know that the prequel comics are relatively new and thus unfamiliar to readers, but I don't want to rehash the entire plot in a single piece of dialogue. Instead, I'll be letting some plot points and events filter through the work. Maybe it will inspire more people to go and read the comics (which I recommend, because Maria is a wonderful protagonist). **

**Thank you again to the readers and reviewers who have stuck through this work. With the dawn of a new year, my goal is to get this work to be one of the great _Labyrinth_ fics, and my best work of creative fiction thus far. Continued comments and criticisms are thus much appreciated to help me refine my writing. As my final semester of graduate school approaches and I buckle down to write more academic works, I hope that at least one of these goals can be fulfilled. I have no timetable for the next update, but it should be out no later than the end of February. **

**Until next time. **


	5. Come On, Feet

In the two days since Sarah's world turned inside out, nothing came as a bigger surprise than discovering that the Underground had indoor plumbing.

Based upon the surrounding decor, she had not expected to find a bathroom behind an innocuous wooden door in her room. Nor had she expected to see a marble clawfoot tub dominating the space, the kind of tub she only saw in period pieces. It practically shimmered amid the tan tiles , promising warm water to ease aching bones and tired muscles. She relished the sound that rushed from the copper faucet, and a few minutes later, was half-submerged with a contented smile. Baths were a rare treat during the school year, when all she had time for was a quick, usually freezing shower. Thus, Sarah seized upon her chance to stretch out in the tub and lose herself in bubbles. For a brief moment, she simply relaxed, and let her thoughts float freely from her mind.

Of course, what goes up must come down, and the memory of her slumbering encounter crashed unceremoniously into her head. The dreams from the past nights were anomalies, rare gifts that she lost with her return from the Labyrinth. Her therapist had noted the oddity in the lack of dreams, but never mentioned it further in their sessions...what would she say now, knowing that Sarah's dreams returned alongside all she tried to forget? There was no way such a connection was mere coincidence, just as it was no coincidence that her spoken wishes could be granted. More had to be going on, tied perhaps to the ailing state of the Labyrinth itself. Perhaps it was yet another trick from the Goblin King, a way to ease himself into her good graces before ripping out the rug from under her feet, and trapping her in a trick. If so, it was quite the long con he planned, one that involved planting himself at death's door to reap his rewards. No, there had to be more to it than simple revenge, especially when he seemed surprised to see her outside the waking world.

What had Jareth offered her, all those years ago? Her dreams? She rejected that plea, and yet here she was, dreaming once again of ballrooms and mysterious monarchs. The thought of Jareth caused Sarah to crease her brow, and glare at the medallion hanging from the faucet.

"What exactly are you playing at?" she wondered aloud.

The necklace made no comment, and Sarah picked it up and dangled it in front of her. At first glance it appeared beautiful but unremarkable, made of a pale gold metal that gleamed in the light of the morning. No jewels lined its surface, nor dangled from the two prongs that bowed inward towards each other in a gentle curve. Seated at the apex where the prongs came together was a different material, rounded to the size of a quarter, upon which was a raised carving of a sideways 's.' The trinket had considerable weight to it, one that made her nearly forget that it came from a dream.

"If he's wearing this all the time," she muttered, giving the necklace one last look before returning it to the floor, "I'm shocked he doesn't have neck problems." She turned it around so that the sigil faced away from her, not taking the chance that its owner could somehow see her through it. The last thing she needed was a voyeuristic Jareth ruining her singular moment of relaxation.

Her bath passed uneventfully, and if Sarah closed her eyes she could pretend she was in her own tub with a glass of wine and a smattering of candles. Eventually the water grew lukewarm, and she resigned herself to the fact that she could not stay in the safety of the tub forever. She reached for a towel, and after a moment of thought reached for the medallion as well. It took a few seconds to untie the leather knot with her soapy fingers, but she fastened it securely around her neck, reddening slightly at how its warmth seemed to seep into her chest.

The suds washed down the drain with the rest of the bathwater, and she set about rifling through a wardrobe outside her bathroom door. Inside were a myriad of pastel dresses, all lovely but unsuitable for adventuring through the Labyrinth. Nestled at the bottom of the wardrobe, were a folded pair of tights that coaxed a sigh from Sarah. _I guess_, she thought as she pulled them out for inspection, _this is the closest I'll get to proper pants. Shame they don't have pockets._ After further rummaging, she procured a flowing, forest-green shirt from the wardrobe and put it on with reluctance. It felt similar to some sort of nightshirt, but it would be better than trying to struggle into a dress. Glancing at the mirror attached to the wardrobe door, Sarah laughed and shook her head. With the medallion and tights, she appeared less like herself and more like some facsimile of Peter Pan.

_Or Jareth_, her mind helpfully offered. She batted that thought away immediately. Any connection to the Goblin King just reminded her of the staring goblins, and Didymus' whispered conversation. The very last thing she wanted was to link herself to Jareth, and remind her of the looming potential future should she fail.

The smile fell from her face, however, as she felt her eye drawn towards the red volume sitting on the desk, lit by the rising sun of its namesake. It had been years since she thought to read the book, and she opened the cover to flip to the first yellowing page. "Once upon a time," she murmured, the words aching in their familiarity, "there was a beautiful young girl whose stepmother always made her stay home with the baby." She paused to scoff, close the book with a satisfying thud, and tuck it under her arm. "That's certainly a melodramatic start to a story, isn't it?"

A knock at her door interrupted her thoughts. Opening the door, she was greeted by the sight of Sir Didymus sans Ambrosius, who doffed his cap with a slight bow at her presence. "Good morning to you, my lady," he greeted. "Art thou prepared for adventure?"

"I think so, although I really didn't bring anything that could be useful."

"Not to worry, my lady. I hath prepared a few items during the night to aid us!" He puffed out his tiny chest as he added, "'tis part of my quest, after all!"

Sarah stifled a snort of laughter at the dear knight's bravado. "I thought your quest was to help me beat the Labyrinth, so I could rescue Toby."

"Nay, t'was but a stepping stone to my true quest! Which is...erm..." Didymus paused, momentarily baffled as he scratched at his head with his paw. "Well, perhaps that is the quest: to find my quest! Such a worthy endeavor indeed, especially with thou and friend Hoggle by my side."

His words bothered Sarah with what they lacked—an omission of someone dear that she had not seen nor heard since falling into the Underground. As she shut the door to the room and began to follow the knight, she took the opportunity to voice her concern. "Sir Didymus, what about Ludo? You considered each other brothers, but I haven't heard you mention him."

"Ah, apologies my lady; I thought thou knew. Brother Ludo went a few nights ago to help his kin in the mountains. There are rumors that the rock callers are losing their voices, but no one knows for sure."

The absence of her furry friend hurt more than expected, and Sarah suddenly missed Ludo's sweet demeanor and innocent exclamations of friendship. "I had no idea that there were other rock callers," she murmured, "or mountains in the Labyrinth."

"That's because y'only went halfway through the place, to get to the center."

A new voice made Sarah and Didymus turn to see an approaching figure—a dwarf with a slight limp, but a large smile. "Hoggle!" Sarah rushed forward and knelt to hug the dwarf, amazed at how vibrant he was compared to the previous day. His eyes were clear and warm as he returned her embrace. "How are you feeling?"

"Better, I suppose," he said with a shrug. "Don't remember much after I saw you—honestly thought I dreamt you." Hoggle looked as if he were about to continue, when his gaze alighted upon her attire. He faltered, and could not stop himself from staring at the necklace at her throat.

"Did Lady Maria not tell thee?" asked Sir Didymus. "T'was His Majesty who saved thy life."

The dwarf flinched at the revelation. "_That_ sly rat? He's never done anything but help himself!" He scoffed at such a notion, but once again his eyes alighted on the necklace, and he shrugged off Sarah's hands to limp down the hall. "Maybe I'm still dreaming. Jareth would never stoop that low. "

Didymus muttered something about treasonous talk, but Sarah paid him little mind as she picked up her pace to walk alongside Hoggle. "No, it's the truth. Jareth used some magic to help you. I watched him do it—heck, I asked him to help."

"Help?" Hoggle laughed, but with each following word, he grew further agitated. "Jareth doesn't _help_, he makes people owe him something. Now you've got to wait for him to let the other shoe drop, and you won't have any means of getting out of whatever he has planned. Look at you' dressed like him, wearin' his ridiculous bauble. You're in over y'er head here, Sarah."

"The only reason I came here was to save you, Ludo and Sir Didymus. I already beat Jareth once; I can easily beat him again if this is all a trap." Her mouth set itself in a grim line as she clenched her jaw. "The Goblin King is an asshole, but if working with him means keeping you three alive, _and _stops the goblins from nominating me as President of the Underground, then I have to play nice."

"He ain't playing by the rules though! If he hurts you for helping me, I'll never forgive myself."

"What was I supposed to do? Hoggle, you were dying right in front of me. There was no way I'd let you go."

Silence. Hoggle paused, refusing to look at her as she too stopped. "I was ready to go," he said softly, "the moment I felt myself get worse, I was ready to go. But y'er the same girl you always were. You don't give up, and you keep giving this old dwarf second chances he don't deserve."

Emotion balled up to bury itself in Sarah's throat, choking her with her own words. "I can't lose my friends, not after I pushed them away for all these years. I'm sorry, Hoggle, but I just...I can't let you go, not without trying to stop whatever's going on."

She swore his eyes were wet with tears, and he may have smiled for the briefest moment. "You've nothin' to be sorry about," he sighed, "I told you that already. Just don't get y'self into trouble on my account, alright? Jareth, he's not the honest sort. You don't wanna know what he's done, especially since you left."

"He has no power over me, Hoggle. Besides, if he's that keen on playing tricks, then he wouldn't have asked me to help in the first place." Sarah could not help but smile, as she added, "Maybe you can help me stay out of trouble."

His response was a bark of a laugh. "I don't think I could ever keep you' out of trouble. But, maybe these old bones have enough in them for one last adventure. You comin' along, Didymus?"

"Aye, I would follow our fair lady to the edge of the earth," the knight affirmed, as he wedged himself between his friends. "Truly, 'tis a quest for the ages: the brave dwarf, the heroic knight, and the victorious Champion braving the unknown for king and kingdom! Come, my companions, let us meet our destiny!"

Sarah laughed as Sir Didymus took off down the hall, joy blanketing her steps as she tried to keep up. She failed to notice, however, that Hoggle still kept his eye on her in silent contemplation. He furrowed his brow as once again he took in her necklace, and then noted the book held under her arm.

"She doesn't know," he muttered to himself. "Hoggle you old fool, she doesn't know what that rat _did_."

"Come on, Hoggle!"

Sarah's voice jolted him out of his thoughts, and Hoggle quickly banished his worry to catch up to the others. Despite his best intentions, however, he could not shake the gnawing guilt at the edges of his mind.

* * *

Silence enclosed the throne room, broken by the gentle clucking of a few stray hens and the panting of Ambrosius, who wagged his entire body at the sight of his master. The nape of Sarah's neck prickled as she caught the eyes of a few watchful goblins, and her stomach rolled with unease. Maria stood by the throne, murmuring something to a stick-thin goblin with a plunger-shaped hat upon his hair. He nodded to whatever she said, and scurried away as the redhead diverted her attention to her guests.

There were bags under her eyes this morning, but her smile remained warm and welcoming. "It is good to see you all well once more—especially you, Hoggle."

"It's Hoggle," corrected the dwarf, only to widen his eyes as he realized that, for once, someone had addressed him correctly. "Oh! You said it right!"

"But of course; it is difficult to forget those who aid runners." A wistful smile passed over Maria's face, as she added, "Perhaps, in your adventuring, you'll come across the companions who helped in my time of need. I know that Cible went home to her family, but Tangle is out in the Labyrinth somewhere. When all ends well, I should seek them out. I miss their company, thorns and all."

Sir Didymus, who had been occupied with Ambrosius enthusiastically licking his face, perked up his ears at the talk of adventure. "Will His Majesty be joining thou in seeing us off?"

The goblins around them let out a low muttering, but fell silent as Maria shook her head. "My son is still resting," she told the group, pausing to raise an eyebrow as she noticed Sarah's trinket. "Although from the look of things, he may have wished you well already."

Sarah fidgeted, her fingers absentmindedly grazing the necklace. "It's supposed to help," she explained, ignoring the look Hoggle shot her and inwardly cringing at her answer. Something told her explaining the situation would lead only to further misunderstanding. There really was no way to say that she visited the Goblin King in a dream without it coming out a little suspect.

"I have no doubt that it will," Maria chuckled. "Are you all ready to be off, then?"

Sir Didymus grunted as he climbed aboard Ambrosius. "Aye, 'tis time we were off." Hoggle nodded in agreement, and after a second Sarah did as well.

The lady tilted her head to the side in contemplation, uncannily mirroring the action her son regularly performed. "Very well," she said after a moment's pause, as she raised her hand and drew a rectangle in the air beside her. "You'll find yourself at the edge of the old Labyrinth when you step through. Anything further is beyond my knowledge."

The space rippled and split, forming the shape of the familiar doorway. Sir Didymus, never one for caution, spurred his mount into the light and disappeared in a flash. Hoggle grumbled something under his breath, but nevertheless followed the knight to the other side.

Sarah, however, felt Maria's hand upon her shoulder before she stepped through. She turned back in curiosity, doing her best to not make eye contact with the goblins.

Maria, much to Sarah's surprise, appeared hesitant with whatever she had to say. "Come back safely, my dear," she whispered, just loud enough for Sarah to hear. There was a heaviness to the air that evoked memories of magic, with the hand on Sarah's shoulder making her collarbone tingle.

Sarah met her eyes with an attempt at a reassuring smile. "I'm sure it'll be a piece of cake."

A tinkling laugh, reminiscent of bells, filled the silence. "We are alike, you and I," Maria said after composing herself, "so confident in our path. It seems we both share the spirit of an unvanquished heart. Carry that spirit with you, Sarah, and you will save the Underground." With a gentle push, Maria ushered Sarah through the light of the rectangle, and in a burst of white light she, the castle, and the goblins disappeared.

Sarah went from here to there, world tilting from vertical to horizontal as she fell to her knees with a gasp. Gone was the stale atmosphere of the stone walls, subsumed by the tang of frost and the crunch of leaves underfoot. She coughed to force air into her lungs, watching her breath coalesce around her head. Her throat felt metallic and raw in the chill of the air, as she blinked back the tears and cursed the return of the headache she never seemed to shake off.

She found herself kneeling in front of a line of trees, with their gnarled branches twisting leaflessly toward the sky. Further into the forest were younger trees with foliage the color of night, coated in a shimmer by the light of day. After that her vision failed her, for the closeness of the trunks transformed the forest into a shadowy, indiscernible tangle. Sarah turned her attention behind her to see the hedge maze, and peering over their tops, the Castle Beyond the Goblin Kingdom. This was different from the parts of the Labyrinth she trespassed previously, which had a neat divide from one area to the next. Instead, the boundaries between the familiar and new petered out at the roots of what lay before her.

"My lady," Sir Didymus called from the tree line, "art thou alright?"

"Never better," she croaked, wincing at the sound of her own voice. "Is moving like that always so disorienting?"

A small hand thrust in front of her, and Sarah took Hoggle's arm to stumble to her feet. As she brushed bits of detritus off her clothing, Hoggle shrugged in response to her question. "Not really sure. We uh, don't usually do this regularly enough to know."

"Perhaps thou art exhausted?"

"Yeah, you're not wrong there." She took in the concern of her companions and did her best to smile, hoping to reassure not only them, but also herself. "I don't remember this place from the last time I was here—where exactly are we?"

"This is all new since you left," said Hoggle. "The forest popped up months after we last saw you'. Jareth sent goblins to investigate but..."

"They never returned," Sir Didymus finished for him, as he scratched Ambrosius behind the ear. "None know what lies beyond these trees."

The three stared into the forest, unsure at what could be awaiting them beyond. Sarah's thoughts wandered to her dream, as the warm metal around her neck brought to mind her late-night conversation. What had Jareth said about this place? _My rule means nothing for a land untouched by wishes_? Perhaps even he had no idea what lay beyond the boundaries of his castle.

"What's out there has to help the Labyrinth somehow," she finally told her friends, readjusting the book under her arm. "We can't stand here all day thinking about it. Let's see what's going on out there, before things get even worse."

"Well said, my lady! Off to adventure, huzzah!" The knight urged his mount forward, and Hoggle chuckled as he followed the galloping sheepdog. Sarah, however, turned her attention behind her to the castle in the distance. Was the Goblin King up there, watching the fate of his land be decided by her actions? There was no brother to rescue this time, nor a thirteen-hour time limit to decide on a fate. The only pathway lay ahead of her, and the only option was to follow it wherever it could lead. "Come on, feet," she whispered, as a wave of nostalgia buoyed her words and she took her first steps into the complete and utter unknown.

From the treeline, a cloaked figure watched the merry group, remaining unseen amid the tangle of branches and trunks. Beneath their hood, the figure chuckled softly, then stepped backwards and faded into the shadows of the forest.

* * *

No form of timekeeping could help Sarah, but it felt as though she had walked for hours. The sun did not venture into the darkened woods around them, enveloping the party in an eternal dusk as they picked their way through roots and foliage. Here the trees grew in twisted togetherness, forming walls of pale white bark to create their own kind of maze. Walking was difficult in such terrain, as a clear pathway simply did not exist. White roots exposed themselves from the blackened dirt, where no other plants dared to grow. Not even grass sprouted between the lifted roots, to soften the trek and provide respite from constantly lifting themselves over the interconnected trees. Thus, it had been a painfully slow trek, as Sarah, Hoggle, and Sir Didymus eased their way along in what little light they had.

"How do we know where we're going?" Hoggle grumbled, having taken up the rear of their cobbled-together marching order. He craned his neck to try and spot Didymus somewhere ahead of him. "You sure this is the right way?"

"Quite sure," came the knight's answer. "Never have I been steered wrong by my sense of direction!"

From between the pair, Sarah chuckled softly as she avoided a root. "Have a little faith, Hoggle! We've been heading in the same direction for a while now, so eventually we'll reach the center."

"Hmph. Let's hope there's more between here and the center than all these trees. This place is giving me the creeps."

She shared the same thought—there was something unnerving about the forest, aside from the thick canopy of dark leaves. Already she found herself longing for the orange sky, if only to have some semblance of familiarity around her. Everything was a somber monochrome, devoid of the usual glittering delight that occupied the Labyrinth—the magic, Sarah realized, was truly gone here. There was nothing beautiful or enchanting about the foreboding trees, which emanated a deep sense of wrongness as their leaves blotted out light. "It can't be that far," Sarah said, and would have attempted further reassurance had she not spotted something amiss in the woods.

Hearing her steps cease behind him, Didymus slowed Ambrosius and turned around in his saddle. "Is all well?"

Sarah nodded, but pointed at one of the trees a few feet away. Wrapped around the particular tree's pale trunk was a thorned vine, from which sprouted a large red rose. The flower's blood-red shade shone amid the black and white landscape, pulling the three travelers over to the tree in silent curiosity. She certainly had never seen any plant like this, none able to match the rose in beauty or in sheer threat. The thorns were especially formidable, resembling talons as they protruded from the vine. No other plant life grew around the tree, and they could not tell where the thorns began or ended. Instead, it ensnared the trunk it called home in a vice-like grip, its thorns digging like claws into the tender bark of its host.

"Why would a rose grow out here?" Hoggle mused, scratching at his chin in contemplation as they regarded the flower. "There's no light in this forest, but this plant is thriving."

Sir Didymus guffawed, shaking his head in disbelief as he reached for the rose. "My friends, 'tis just a flower. Nothing but a harmless piece of flora, doing its best to survive in such—YEEEOW!" He wrenched his paw away from the vine, stuffing it in his mouth with a whine of pain.

"You dolt," Hoggle groaned, "you've gone and pricked yourself! That's what you get for acting before you think. Didn't you see the thorns?"

"Master Hoggle, thou does not need to scold—at least I art brave enough to act."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that thou hast no right to talk, when thou is still very much a coward," Didymus said as he sucked on his paw and did his best not to let tears fall from his eye.

Before Hoggle could retort, there came the sound of splintering wood. The rose, its thorns still stained with the knight's blood, snapped shut in a violent flourish, and the vine began to move in a motion that brought to mind the movement of a snake. The thorns dragged and slashed grooves into the wood, scarring the white bark with angry, jagged lines. Sarah whipped her head around as she heard movement in the forest, tensing at the noise of breaking branches and rustling leaves. Around her, thorn-covered vines unfurled themselves from the earth, rising over exposed roots and curling their way towards the party like serpents.

"Hoggle, you were a gardener, right?" Sarah kept her eyes trained on the far-off motion of trees, unable to see what made them sway back and forth. "Did you ever come across moving flowers that may want to kill you?"

"Can't say I have."

"In that case, we may need to run."

Suddenly, something crashed through the treeline—a mass of dark green and brown no taller than Hoggle, but from which emanated dozens of sharp-edged vines. It swung itself from tree to tree, making a rustling noise as it barreled its way straight for the group. They had no time to get a better look at what exactly the being was, for vines whipped out in their direction. Sarah cursed and ducked, hearing the thorns whiz overhead and embed themselves in the tree just a few inches behind her.

"Run! Go, just go!" Ambrosius took off at her command, while Sir Didymus clung to his canine steed in sheer desperation. Hoggle followed behind him at a speed that managed to surprise her, fueled perhaps by adrenaline, or even the boost Jareth's magic provided. None of them attempted to see if the thing followed, but the sound of crashing trees and a faint hiss told them whatever it was still pursued.

The Labyrinth had awoken, and from the look of things, it was not pleased with Sarah's return.

* * *

**We're diving straight into the adventure now, and it only took half a year! I'm really looking forward to writing the escapades of Sarah and her Labyrinth friends, and introducing some fun situations ahead in the next few chapters. The Goblin King will be returning too, not to worry, but I don't want this to become a work where Jareth drags Sarah through the Labyrinth, or where she does nothing but get hurt or captured. That's just not my cup of tea.**

**Thank you to all who've read and reviewed this fic so far, and a special thanks to my betas for this chapter, my old friends/Rancho buddies FullmetalWizard1995 and StarshipArtisan. The advice I've had from reviews has been super helpful as well in refining this work! I actually went back and edited the first chapter to make it easier to read, so maybe that will help garner some new readers. Will continue to work on making this one of the top fics in the fandom, so I appreciate everyone who's stuck along for the ride thus far. It really does mean a lot to me. **

**(As a side-note, I promise that the locale the chapter ends with bears no relation to a much more famous "tangled wood" from another Labyrinth fanfic. The phrasing is simply a coincidence I realized after I finished editing. :P) **

**I have a month before I turn in my masters thesis, so I'm unsure if I'll get a chapter in before mid-March. It's a busy period of the year for me, but I'll see what happens! If anything, expect an update before the end of April. **

**Until next time. **


	6. Those Who Dream By Night

The forest crashed all around Sarah, although she paid little attention to the destruction in her effort to escape. The only sounds that registered were the dull beating of blood through her body, and her rapid breathing as she leaped over moving vines and ducked falling branches. Maneuvering through the tumultuous terrain would have been difficult no matter the circumstances, but in the dim light that broke the leafy canopy, there was added danger in what could not be seen. Felled trees provided pockets of orange sunlight, the only guidance she could rely on as she gave up on direction, intent instead on getting far away from whatever tore after her and her companions.

Sir Didymus shouted something over the din, as the white form of Ambrosius weaved and bounded deerlike in her periphery. He too seemed at a loss for an escape, trapped as they were in the never-ending monochrome. Hoggle was worryingly nowhere in sight, as far as she could tell. There was no time to search for him, not with thorns whizzing by on whip-like vines mere inches from her head. Eventually she knew there would be a slip-up, a stumble by her or her companions that would end the chase. They could not run forever, and the moment of impact grew closer by the second.

The weight of the pendant around her neck grounded her in the possibility of salvation, the promise of an end to the terror of the forest. She cast that thought aside as she ducked under another branch. Jareth had stipulated to use it if in danger, but he had never specified what _exactly_ it would do. It felt like the trinket of a fairy-tale, where the hero would utilize it to conquer the greatest of dangers in exchange for the item crumbling to dust. What if there were more dangers untold ahead, where she would have no token to save her? She focused her attention instead upon _The_ _Labyrinth_, gripped to the point of white knuckles in her hand. The tiny volume pressed to her chest acted more as a reassurance than the necklace, serving as a beacon of familiarity rather than the unease of the unknown. She had braved dangers untold before, it seemed to say. This would just be another to add to her story.

Her body shook with exhaustion, and she gritted her teeth as stray thorns scratched against her face and clothing. A flash of red caught at the edges of Sarah's vision. She turned her attention ever so briefly from her escape to see Hoggle on her left, having tripped and fallen over an exposed root some feet away. Her prediction moments ago bore fruit, as the encroaching thorns bore down upon him.

In the midst of the chaos, at this moment where time crawled, a stray thought took the opportunity to make itself known. _Thorns and all,_ Maria had said, a comment so offhand Sarah would not had remembered had it not been for the thorns at her back. It may have been a coincidence, but in the span of a few seconds, she seized upon it with all the hope she had. There was no time to make another choice.

Sarah pivoted her direction, dirt flying under her feet as she skidded to a stop upon the fallen waxen leaves. She heard him cry out as she stood over him, heard him plead with her to flee and save herself. She ignored this call to action to stand in front of his prone form, staring down the oncoming vines with grim determination. _This is ridiculous,_ she thought, as gasps of air punched through her lungs. _I'm going to get skewered by a damn vine if I'm wrong about this. _

She braced herself for an impact that never came.

The being ceased its momentum by curling vines around surrounding trees, the force of its inertia nearly jerking tree roots from the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust in the process. Sarah held back a wince at the sound of the thorns digging into the wood, but could not contain her surprise as the dust settled. She recognized this thing: it was a bush, although much more mobile than any bush she knew. Its leaves were a rich green, nearly the same shade as the ripped shirt she wore, but it looked as tangled and gnarled as the trees around it. While it had no eyes amid its leaves, she felt its attention upon her, as if her sudden stop caught it completely off guard.

Taking a breath and praying her words would not waver, Sarah called out to the bush. "Uh, hi. You wouldn't happen to be Tangle, would you?"

The vines stilled, twitching for a brief moment, then began to retreat back towards their host, who sank gently to the dirt. Two thick vines anchored it to the ground, like legs so it could stand. Leaves rustled gently, and a high, soft voice warbled from within the bush, cut through by the lightest of whispers. "You—_oh hello—_you recognize us?"

"No," she confessed, "but I heard about you from Maria."

The bush trembled, and to Sarah's shock, dozens of deep red roses bloomed in a blush across its leaves. "Oh! The lady—_nice lady_—she was kind to us—_yes hmm so kind_—we miss her very much. How do you know her?"

Before she could answer, she heard Hoggle stumble to his feet behind her. "We were sent by her, to find out where all the magic's gone," he wheezed, as out of breath as Sarah.

"Oh no, there's no magic here," said Tangle, as a few buds withered and snapped from their vines. They sounded wistful, lost in memory as the group looked at the surrounding forest. "Once these trees were beautiful—_with_ _silver boughs and golden leaves_—but without magic they're—_hmm, how do you say it_—empty? Now there's nothing left."

A piece of orange sky could be seen through a break in the canopy, a welcoming sight amid the darkness of the woods. Sarah could almost imagine the sun reflecting off golden leaves, scattering light across the silver trunks of the forest. The mental image would never do the actual experience justice, however, although she longed to see it made real. "That must've been beautiful."

"It was very pretty," conceded Tangle. "Maybe you'll see it again—_Maria should see it too_—when everything is right."

Far off in the woods came a bark, and suddenly Sir Didymus descended upon the group in all his chivalric glory. With his spear poised to strike, the knight exuded the same bravado Sarah had last seen within the goblin city. "Companions!" He cried out as he slowed Ambrosius to a halt, kicking up fallen twigs and leaves in his path. "Did this beast hurt you? Shall I tear it limb from leafy limb?"

There came a small gasp from Tangle, who snaked a vine gently to the surface of Sarah's cheek. She felt no thorns this time, but the soft velvet of new leaves against her skin, as they brushed against a scratch that had begun to throb. "Oh no," Tangle whispered, as they withdrew a leaf smattered with drops of blood. "I was never trying to hurt you!" I just wanted to see who was here, in case it was a friend. It's been a long time—_too-long_—since I saw visitors here."

"It's ok," she whispered in reply. "We should've thought it through before we started running."

They appeared to nod, then turned their attention to the knight. "Something—_hmm, what is the word_—woke me. They touched one of my roses—_it tickled_—while I rested."

Sir Didymus hung his head. "Apologies, 'tis I who disturbed thou."

"Please don't apologize! I'm happy to be awake—_and meeting new friends_—although I don't know any of you."

"Well," Sarah introduced, "This is Hoggle and Sir Didymus, and I'm Sarah."

Her name provoked an instantaneous change in Tangle, who shuddered as more roses sprouted along their makeshift arms. "Are you _the _Sarah—_the real Girl who Ate the Peach_—who beat the Labyrinth?"

Sarah opened her mouth to argue with the title, but the impetus died as quickly as it had come. "I...yes, that's me."

"I heard of you, before the magic faded. Now everything is sad—_so very sad and alone_—and it's not the same. Much more—_oh, what's the word_—scary now, especially with what's at the center."

Sir Didymus, Hoggle, and Sarah glanced at each other, before Hoggle asked, "What uh, what's at the center?"

Tangle's leaves rustled, akin to the bristling of feathers. "Something dark. Something not right. I hide from it—_and nap, naps are very good_—so it cannot see me, but it hides too. Maybe it's—_oh, what do you call it_—shy, like me." Vines thrashed anxiously around their thick roots. "It's very scary."

"But how," asked Sarah, "do you know it's at the center?"

This provoked a violent tremor in the bush, causing Sarah to step back in case more thorns went flying. "Because it's _here_—not now, but sometimes," Tangle whispered, pointing an errant vine off towards their right. "It always goes that way, towards the center. I feel it coming—_like a uh, like a storm_—and so I rest and wait for it to leave. I rest a lot these days."

"Art thou saying that the creature visits often?"

"Yes! It's scary!"

Sarah pursed her lips, looking off in the direction Tangle indicated. The broken trees and scattered sunlight did not extend that way, and shadows ensnared the tangled woods. Yet, if she squinted, she swore that off in the distance was a pinprick of light at what very well could be the end of the forest. "Well," she sighed, "looks like that's the way we want to head."

"You want to head towards the thing?" More flowers wilted, but some upon Tangle's vines were brave enough to bloom. "You must be very heroic then—_oh yes_—just like Maria was all those years ago. Maybe I should go visit her, see how she's doing."

"She did mention thee to us quite fondly," Didymus offered. "With all happening, thy visitation may bring some joy."

"Then it's time to stop hiding!" Once more the vines emerged from Tangle's branches, curling themselves around nearby trees. "I'll visit her at once—_oh, she'll love this_—and see what I can do! Good luck to you three—_yes, good luck indeed_—and be careful out there!"

The trio of adventurers bid the sentient rose bush farewell, watching in silence as they began to swing back through the forest and disappear into black and white. Once Tangle was lost in the trees, Hoggle let out a laugh. "Chased by a bush," he muttered in disbelief. "Maybe I'm getting too old for adventures after all."

* * *

Sunset brought with it shadow, as far-off mountains reached with jagged fingers to the ombre sky. Out from the tangle of trees hours later, the territory of the Labyrinth stretched without end, becoming a springy heath under Sarah's feet. Amid the sticklike shrubs, Sarah could almost imagine herself in a Victorian novel, with perhaps a brooding Goblin King upon the makeshift moor. "He'd fit right into a Bronte novel," she muttered to herself, wincing as her feet ached. "Or maybe Hardy. No, definitely Hardy." Teaching elementary school gave her little time to read for pleasure, and in a moment of selfishness she thought about the books in her apartment she had been looking forward to reading over the summer. Her reading list would now have to wait.

_There's always the book_, her conscience reminded.

She glanced down at the cover, brushing a thumb against the worn leather. Up until that morning, she hadn't read the book in seven years. The story had all but faded from recent memory, in her most successful attempt to exorcise her past. As always, there came the urge to throw it as far as she could, followed closely by the resignation that it would only return to her side. As far as karma went, this one was shit.

"Sarah?"

"Hmm?" Sarah glanced up at the sound of her own name, to see Sir Didymus and Hoggle had stopped to stare at her. Even Ambrosius looked concerned, as he nudged her hand with his cold, wet nose. "Oh, sorry. I got a little lost in thought there. Are we stopping for the night?"

"Aye, rest will do us good," said Didymus as he dismounted the sheepdog. "I should have packed blankets and nourishment for us."

"Where?"

"Why, in here!" With a flourish, Sir Didymus reached into one of the pouches of his saddlebag, rooted around, and pulled a gray blanket much larger than both himself and the space it came from. Sarah, mouth agog, felt like she just saw a magician pull a rabbit out of a hat, especially when Didymus let out a laugh at her expression. "Thou art surprised by my gift. 'Twas imparted on me and enchanted by His Majesty a few years ago, for my dedication to knighthood."

Hoggle grumbled as he assisted Sir Didymus in pulling out further blankets from the seemingly bottomless compartment. "Yeah yeah, that rat rewarded all of us. Doesn't make up for all the shifty things he's done. Why you and Ludo still listen to him is beyond me."

"Wait, hold on a second." Sarah peered into the bag, but saw nothing but shadow. "You're saying that Jareth made this? I thought he hated you for helping me!"

The knight and dwarf gave each other a silent look. "Well, my lady," Didymus began with uncertainty, "he was certainly angry at first, but His Majesty...well..."

"He got over it," Hoggle finished. "He moved on, and so did we." He shrugged, and handed Sarah a metal tin from the pouch. "This is probably chicken. Never seen any meal come out from this thing that wasn't chicken."

It was in fact, as Sarah opened the tin to check, chicken. The warm meal offset the chill in the surrounding air, broken eventually by a fire Hoggle cobbled together as the three settled into their makeshift campsite. As they ate their chicken dinners, Sarah listened and laughed as her friends told her about the past seven years, years filled with adventures across the Underground to document the changes of the land. To her relief, their earlier bickering over roses and thorns smoothed over as they mentioned traveling with Ludo, both of them burying the hatchet to revel in their long-lasting friendship. Soon though, conversation died down as Didymus yawned, displaying a mouthful of pointed canine teeth. "Well, my friends," he sighed, "I am in need of rest after the day we had. Who knew that a rosebush could cause such exhaustion."

"I haven't run that hard since high school." Sarah stretched, feeling the ache in her muscles that rivaled her occasional post-workout ache. "Thank goodness it was Tangle, or else we might've been in real trouble."

"That reminds me—my lady, how didst thou know that they were friend, and not foe?"

She thought for a moment, recalling the scene of Hoggle prone on the forest floor. "Well, honestly, I wasn't sure. Something people keep telling me is that the Labyrinth is not what it seems—I learned that the hard way the last time I came here. But if I was right, then we were running from someone who could help us, and if I was wrong..."

Silence, if only for a moment. "Thou has a good heart, my lady," Didymus conceded. "Thy ability to befriend helped thee before, and I believe it will help thee once more." His dark eyes glowed in the light of the fire, as he gazed at the book in her hands. "We both rush to action, but perhaps I could learn from thee to find other answers than simply fight or flight. It may be valuable if we encounter that fiend mentioned by Tangle."

"That's what bothering me," Hoggle said. "You and I never came across any kind of creature on our travels, although we stayed away from most of the newer Labyrinth portions. I'm not sure what Tangle even saw, but it must've been something frightening."

Sarah spoke up from petting Ambrosius. "

The sun had long disappeared from the orange sky, and the Labyrinth became bathed in darkness. While Sir Didymus bid his companions goodnight, Sarah took the opportunity to wander a few feet from the campsite, gazing out at the heath beyond as she took a seat on the ground. The sky above held no stars within its dark embrace, nor a sliver of the moon she saw in her dream. Such a lack of heavenly bodies unnerved her, and at the sight, she yearned to just be home once more. Only the dim light of the fire lit her way, drawing her attention once again to the book in her arms. Sighing, she flipped through the pages halfheartedly, but paused once she reached the final words of the story to brush her fingers across the raised text. _The girl returned home with her brother, and all was well once more. _

But there were still more pages left in the book.

Even after seven years, she knew how it should end, with all well and only the back cover left to turn. There had never been pages after those final words, and as she thumbed through the dozen extra pages, Sarah found them to be utterly blank. No words graced the paper, no images illuminated what their function could possibly be. Confused, she flipped them until she arrived at the end of the volume, then went back to the first blank page and flipped through once more to the back. There was nothing different in this reading compared to the first, and she would have wondered what it meant had she not heard footsteps behind her and shut the book once more.

Hoggle came to sit beside her, groaning as his joints popped with the act of motion. "The chill in the air sure does wonders for my back," he muttered.

Sarah stifled a laugh. "Oh come on Hoggle, you're not that old. At least I don't think you are...how old are you anyway?"

"That's my secret to keep," came his sly reply, before the two gazed out into what little landscape could be seen in the firelight. The dwarf at her side cleared his throat. "I, uh, wanted to thank you for today. Was sure we were going to be toast there, especially when you swooped in. You got lucky this time, Sarah."

"Even if there had been danger, I would've done the same thing."

"Oh, I know that," Hoggle grunted, punctuating his words with a brief, hacking laugh. "Didymus is right about you having a good heart, but you gotta be careful. A big heart can be a weakness, just as much as me being a coward is a weakness."

"My therapist told me once that weaknesses are just stepping stones to strengths. You just need to learn how to change yourself for the better."

Hearing his scoff, Sarah frowned. "What? I thought it was good advice!"

"Sure, sure. But not everyone is able to change themselves as easily as you."

The fire crackled behind her, and a stray ember floated across her vision like a comet staining the sky. "It's not easy, but it was necessary. You can't go back to being the same teenager after going on a quest to rescue a sibling from some glittery son-of-a-bitch. I didn't want to be that person anymore, so I gave her up and moved on with my life. Sometimes you have to leave part of you behind to grow up."

"Change is hard," Hoggle said, his eyes fixed upon the expanse of gorse before them. "All my life I've done the same thing day after day. I've watched runners come and go, and I've watched them all fail. You're different, Sarah—knew it from the moment you handed me that bracelet. The others, they took their lumps and that was that, but you fought tooth and nail to turn everything upside down."

Sarah brought her knees up to her chin, curling into herself in the only form of retreat possible. "I just wanted to bring Toby home, but I think I left my childhood behind when...well, when I rejected what Jareth offered." She laughed softly, although she could not find her words funny. "If anything, this place changed me much more than I changed it."

"You've changed all of us, missy, not just yourself—but I think deep down, you're still the same old stubborn brat."

"You're still the same fairy-killing coward."

They chucked at that, remembering how they had first met all those years ago. A comfortable silence settled itself between them, until Hoggle murmured, "Can you promise me something, Sarah?"

"I can try."

His silence stretched out, to the point where Sarah looked over to watch him struggle for words. Hoggle kept his eyes on the distant shadows. "Promise me that...whatever happens, whatever we get into here, you don't end up like_ him_."

There was no need for the dwarf to clarify who he meant, as he raised himself to his feet and padded back to their camp. Sarah let him, lost in the crevices of her mind, fixated on owls wings and mismatched eyes.

Was that the danger that awaited her here-a future as a glittery nightmare?

_No_,_ there's no way I'd end up like Jareth, _she thought as she made her way back to the others, finding Hoggle and Sir Didymus curled up around Ambrosius in their blankets. All three were snoring softly as she settled in, but as the night wore on, sleep eluded her grasp. No matter how she tossed and turned, there was no escaping the echo of Hoggle's words, nor the promise of dreams to come. When the sun broke apart the darkness of the night, the only things she gained were the sharp pains of a headache, bags under her eyes, and the growing realization that she could once again be in over her head.

* * *

**Tangle is probably my favorite character in _Labyrinth: Coronation_. They're so shy but feisty, so I just had to include a cameo at some point...the only issues is their dialogue is ridiculously hard to write in a non-visual setting. How am I supposed to convey that their speech is interlaced with gentle asides and whispered confusions? This was the best I could do, and I'm rolling with it. Plus, this chapter title gave me the chance to use part of one of my favorite quotes, which is always fun. **

**The good news is that I've finished my thesis! It's submitted to my committee, so now it's just a waiting game to see if they like it or not. The bad news, as of this lovely March 2020 update, is that I'm stuck inside due to the pandemic sweeping the globe, and all of my grad classes are online now! They also cancelled graduation...yay. It's a tough and stressful time right now, which is why I rushed this update a bit to get something out there in the midst of everyone being stuck in their homes. I had no time to get this to a beta reader, so I apologize for the lack of quality compared to my usual updates. Working under stress with a health condition that'll kill me if I get the virus is really detrimental to creativity. With my schedule being so uncertain, I'm not really sure when I'll get the next update out, but I'll aim to get it released no later than April, before I start writing final papers. May all my readers stay safe and healthy in these uncertain days. **

**Until next time. **


	7. Hold Fast to Dreams

The Labyrinth in the hours of early morning was a sight to behold, cloaked in the fog that had yet to be burnt away by the rosy light of dawn. There was an otherworldly quality to the land, entrancing Sarah as she assisted a yawning Sir Didymus in stuffing blankets back into the bottomless saddlebag. Pale hues of pink and purple stained the sky above her, and dew glittered the branches of gorse that caught stray pinpricks of light. Yet, unlike the portions of the Labyrinth familiar to her, the expanse of heath was desolate of life. There were no birds singing to welcome the morning, nor insects that flitted and buzzed around her. Most notably was the absence of any type of living being, goblin, dwarf, or otherwise. In her original journey, every step she took or place she visited led to some form of encounter, but for the first time, the land held no one to greet her.

Although, given that many of the encounters were with Fireys, junk ladies, and cleaners, perhaps it was good to take a break from goblin greetings.

As the sun teased its imminent arrival, the trio of adventurers and Ambrosius made their way across the heath. Their aim, Sir Didymus told Sarah, was the mountain range in the distance, whose rocky summits were lost amid dense, gray clouds. "They appeared quite literally overnight some years ago," the knight explained, keeping his eye on the shrouded peaks. "His Majesty flew to investigate, but the clouds were too thick to see anything of note. If my directions are correct, those mountains surround the center of the Labyrinth."

"You ever hear that rumor about the trolls?" Hoggle spoke up from his trailing position at the back of the marching order.

"The one regarding their migration? Aye, but there have been many tales about the rock-callers, as you and I know."

Sarah, exhausted from her sleepless night and half paying attention, looked to the shadowed range across the heath. "Is that where Ludo went, with the other rock callers?"

"No one's really sure," Hoggle said. "Rock callers don't usually come close to the goblin city. They've always lived on the outskirts of the Labyrinth, but a lot of those places have faded away recently. Some folk said they've seen clans moving to the new areas, since they lost their homes."

"See, that's something I still don't understand. I keep hearing about people and places 'fading away,' but no one explains what exactly happens."

Sir Didymus and Hoggle looked to each other before the knight slowed Ambrosius to a halt. His jaw clenched as he furrowed his brow, as if the act of speaking involved pulling each word from deep within himself. "Thou knows that this land depends on magic," he began, as his ears flattened and his whiskers twitched. "We too—that is, Hoggle and I, and the other denizens of the Underground—need magic to survive. 'Tis the basis for our very forms, and the very form of the Labyrinth itself. As thou saw with Hoggle, when magic dries up we begin to fade. Our bodies cannot exist without connection to the magic, and therefore we perish and leave existence altogether."

He hesitated and looked to his dwarven companion, who gave a single nod of encouragement to continue. "When parts of the Labyrinth fade, they become...well, not quite there. Hoggle and I have seen this happen during our adventuring, where the area becomes akin to a mirage. 'Fading' is precisely what occurs. The creatures that live there sometimes have the chance to flee once the process begins, but the area always fades away into...well, something like this landscape before us. A vast expanse of flat land, but devoid of any magical connection at all."

"Like a scar," Sarah realized aloud. "It's like the land is scarring over."

"An apt comparison, my lady." A canine whine emanated from the tiny fox, as he nudged his loyal sheepdog into motion. "I only hope thou never lays eyes on such a space. The sight is one of hopelessness."

There was little talking after that, as the promise of the dawn soured in the face of the hopeless, mysterious happenings within the Underground. Movement became near-mechanical, as Sarah walked while lost to her thoughts. What was she even supposed to do, besides journey to the Labyrinth's center? She could not restore what was lost, nor bring back those who had faded. Once upon a time she might have been successful at beating the Labyrinth, but this was an altogether different task.

"Get it together, Williams," she muttered to herself, as she stole a glance at the medallion around her neck. Moping and worrying would do her no good, enmeshed as she was in the unfolding adventure. Despite the experiences of both Didymus and Hoggle, she still held fast to the idea that something could be put right, even if she could do little to help. Yet, the lack of sleep and the tales told by her friends did not assist in lifting her spirits. Hopelessness, she realized, was contagious, and with that hopelessness came doubt. The feeling of drowning that had started the day was still present, and try as she might, Sarah could not shake the sensation that she was leading her friends towards something they would not recover from.

Her headache throbbed, and while neither Sarah nor her friends saw it, the token given by the Goblin King illuminated ever so briefly before becoming still and cold once more.

* * *

The hours passed by along their walk, with no change in the landscape apart from a few rounded hills here and there. At the crest of one of these small hills, the party spotted something new. Down the hill stretched a large crack in the earth, snaking outward on either side beyond comprehensible view, as if the earth had split itself in twain. The heath ended at this canyon, while on the other side grew thick grass, and the distant promise of trees and forest. The gap between the separated earth was too wide to leap, and the gray face of the cliff edge seemed to taunt the group with its distance as they approached.

Sarah, Hoggle, and Sir Didymus made their way to the edge of the cliff, and peered downward, rewarding themselves with a view of gray rock and darkness. "It must go on for a while," Hoggle said. "I can't see the bottom."

"Is there a bottom?" Didymus, who had begun to slide off Ambrosius as he peered down, righted himself in his saddle. "Perhaps this gorge goes on forever."

"Bottom or not, we still need to find a way to get across." Sarah lifted her eyes, searching for any sign of a safe area. There had to be a way to get from one side to the other, if not here then further along the cliffside. _A bridge could really come in handy right now_, she thought as she scanned the empty lands, wondering if an impassable canyon was the kind of danger that warranted calling upon the Goblin King.

Then, she spotted it.

As if summoned from her thoughts, a bridge connected the sides of the canyon a few feet away, in a spot that Sarah could have sworn no bridge existed before. It was the kind of bridge one saw in cities, a sturdy construction of stone and glass and metal that, while out of place in the Underground, brought little surprise to Sarah. Stranger things had happened in her Labyrinth experience, and a bridge resembling one from her own world was low on the list of weird occurrences.

"Oh, perfect!" She pointed, and her companions turned in confusion in the direction of the bridge. "That's easy enough to cross over! Come on, let's keep going."

Before her friends could say a word, she was already on the move, clods of grass kicking up from under her feet. The crossing was too real to be any type of illusion, and the more she looked at it, the more solid it looked before her. As she was about to step foot onto the bridge, Ambrosius let out a bark of alarm, and Hoggle and Didymus called out her name.

She stopped, and turned to see them at the edge of the cliff. They looked upon her with confusion and possibly fear, prompting her to scoff. "What? It's just a bridge."

"Sarah," Hoggle spoke slowly, as if struggling to keep some inner emotion down, "there's no bridge there."

The smile still lingered on Sarah's face, and she could not help but laugh as she gestured to the bridge in front of her. "What are you talking about? I'm nearly standing on it right now!"

"My lady, Hoggle is right," said Didymus, whose worry laced his words more prominently than Hoggle's. "Thou art at the edge of the cliff. If thou goes further, thou shalt fall."

Now her grin slipped from her face, as she turned back at the bridge in confusion. It still lay before her, but as she stared, it seemed to become less solid. Doubt clouded her mind despite what lay in front of her. "But...but I can see it. Hoggle, Didymus, you both really can't see it?"

They shook their heads, and as they did the bridge grew almost transparent. Sarah could see the gray cliffs on the opposite side of the canyon now through the bottom of the bridge, a sight that only confused her further. It felt so real before, to the point where she was confident that it existed and wasn't the quickly fading sight she now confronted. This instead was baffling, and briefly called to mind an experience from years before, with a worm and a hidden wall at the start of her teenage quest.

"It's here though," she whispered, furrowing her brows as she tried to work out an explanation for what lay before her. "I swear, it's right in front of me."

With a tentative hand, and with a kernel of doubt still in her mind, Sarah reached out to touch the bridge. The air felt warmer here, a chance from the chill that she had grown accustomed to within the Labyrinth. Cool, smooth stone grazed her fingertips, provoking a sigh as hope fluttered to life within her. There was no denying her senses, for the bridge felt exceptionally real under her fingertips. Her belief grew, and as it did, as she told herself that what she saw was the truth, the bridge once more became solid. "Look! See, I'm touching it right now!"

Hoggle ambled up to stand beside her, and she watched as he reached out and, before her eyes, touched the bridge. When he turned to her, however, his expression was mournful. "All I feel is air, same as what I see. Maybe it's a trick, to make you think it's safe before you plunge to your death. We can keep going, find another place to cross."

"Perhaps His Majesty could be called upon to aid us," Sir Didymus offered, raising an eyebrow as Sarah clutched at her necklace and shook her head.

"No, that can't be right! I know it's real—it has to be real!" Without thinking, she stepped forward, as Hoggle grasped at empty space in a vain attempt to pull her backwards.

For a moment, for the briefest of seconds, she worried the warnings would be true, and the bridge blinked out of existence. Her body lurched, finding nothing upon which to stand, and fear shot through her before she remembered the sensation of metal and stone on her fingertips. Pressure bore down upon her. As if responding to her thoughts, her foot found solid ground, and with another step the bridge was beneath her feet. Heart still racing, Sarah closed her eyes to sigh, shivering slightly at the chill that followed the rush of adrenaline before she regained her composure and turned to smile at the others.

Hoggle, Sir Didymus, and Ambrosius stared in openmouthed silence at Sarah, as she put her hands on her hips and tapped her foot against the stone. It was the knight who spoke first, sputtering broken questions until one finally came through with whole incredulity. "How art thou floating?"

"I'm on the bridge," said Sarah. "If you doubt it, it starts to fade away."

Hoggle tilted his head in contemplation, and brushed a hand against the railing once more. "I think I feel it, maybe. What exactly are you seeing that we're not?"

"Well, it's made of stone and metal, and it sort of goes up in the middle. The railings are glass, so you can see the sides of the canyon, but the stone is gray like the canyon rocks—"

"Oh! Oh, I think I see it! Yes, it's as you describe—whoa, slow, Ambrosius, slow!" Ambrosius took a step onto the bridge and, finding his footing upon the stone, barked and bounded forward as his rider frantically yanked at his reins with a yelp. The two were across to the other side in seconds, with the sheepdog shaking with delight and Sir Didymus admonishing him in vain.

Laughing, Sarah made to follow, but hesitated as Hoggle joined her to walk across. He appeared stunned as he took a step onto the bridge, and grabbed at the railing as if it were about to fall to pieces below his feet. "I don't get it. What were we doing differently that you weren't?"

She shrugged. "I'm not sure. Maybe you're supposed to believe it's real, and it makes it real? Or maybe...maybe it needs hope. You have to hope you can make it across?"

"Could be that, I suppose." Hoggle laughed to himself with a shake of his head. "Second time now that you've risked life and limb on a hunch, though. Makes me wish I were more like you."

"Like me?"

"Y'know, more...certain, or level-headed." Reaching the other side of the canyon, both found Didymus patting Ambrosius in a sign of forgiveness for his earlier gallop. The knight paid them little mind, especially as Hoggle added, "It's like you know how things are going to go, or you're sure that you're doing what's right."

She nearly stopped walking at those words, only forcing herself onward once her reeling mind settled back into place. "That's the thing though," Sarah hoarsely replied, soft enough that she knew Hoggle would not overhear. "I'm not certain about anything anymore."

As they made their way past the tall grass and eventually into a forest of pines, the doubt from the canyon followed Sarah, nagging at her exhausted mind all the way into the evening. It was only after they made camp amid the dark pine needles that her mind quieted enough to slip her into a shapeless, welcomed slumber.

* * *

_Sleep, would, however, not come without the price of a dream. _

_For the third time, Sarah found herself in a haze, as her surroundings curled themselves out of mist into the form of a room. There was an elegance to this space that she had not seen Underground, with every sight inviting a consideration and appreciation of what resided within. Her eyes took in the sitting area and baroque chairs that flanked the now-cold fireplace on the far side of the room, before roaming over the shadowed tapestries, illuminated only by what faint moonlight escaped the heavy velvet curtains over the windows. She spotted a nearby desk with what little vision she had in the darkness and absentmindedly brushed a fingertip against its bare surface. Even something as simple as the desk held intricate carved patterns of plants and animal life upon its frame, making her wonder where she could possibly be in the Labyrinth. _

_As she bent down to examine the designs, there was the slightest of movements at the edge of her vision that captured her attention. Straightening and peering into the darkened interior, she made out what appeared to be a massive canopied bed, flanked by curtains that would have provided privacy had they not been pulled back. Instead, Sarah had a view of a pale figure sitting up against the headboard in the bed, and nearly gasped as she recognized whose room she stood in. _

"_My my, precious," said the Goblin King, as a grin played over his face. "It's awfully bold of you to visit for a midnight rendezvous. Did you miss me after only a day?" _

_She ignored his words, stepping closer to take in what could be seen in the limited light. His eyes were sunken into his face and pronounced against his visible, sharp cheekbones, giving him the appearance of a much older man. The mess of sand-colored hair was wild atop his head, with pieces that fell into his field of vision and subsequently went ignored. Here in a bed too big for a single man, he looked fragile, as if the slightest breeze would dissolve him into nothing more than memory. If before now she had doubted the claim that Jareth was dying, the view in front of her put any and all doubts to rest. _

_Yet, despite his state, he still caught Sarah's attention with that same piercing gaze, the one that bound her in place and threatened to strip the secrets from the depths of her soul. It was this gaze that lingered, as the grin vanished in favor of a troubled frown. "So, it's really you after all," he muttered with a slow tilt of his head. "I was worried for a moment that this was just an ordinary dream." _

"_It would be if you would stop butting into my dreams when I try to sleep."  
"I could say the same to you, precious. As I said before, this is not my doing." With a grunt, Jareth raised himself into a sitting position in his bed, struggling for a moment before he could ease into a comfortable arrangement. "As you can see, I happen to be slightly indisposed." _

"_That's a nice way of putting it." _

"_It's how my mother would frame my state. Then again, she always was an optimist." _

"_I'm surprised she can be optimistic at a time like this," Sarah sighed, her gaze flitting away to take in the tapestries surrounding the room. "The last time I saw you, you looked fine. Have things gone downhill since then?"_

"_Everything's going downhill, my dear. That's the nature of losing magic: there's no happy ending when the bottom drops out. As for the last time we spoke, it was within my own dream, where I could be how I pleased. I lack that energy now, especially since you surprised me not a moment after I shut my eyes."_

_Something about his flippant tone struck a buried nerve with Sarah, pulling at the last remnants of her tattered self-control. "Don't make it sound like I'm to blame. I didn't ask to be here."_

_Jareth raised an eyebrow at her antagonistic grumblings. "Yet here you are, all the same. Or have you come to accidentally haunt my slumber?" _

"_I'm not doing any of this!" She gestured at the room around them with a broad sweep of her arm. Jareth followed her movement with an increasingly severe countenance, one that went ignored by Sarah in her frustration as she took a step back and away from him. "Stop messing with my dreams—I didn't like it when I was a teenager, and I sure as shit don't like it now!" _

"_So worried about yourself, are you?" There was anger in the Goblin King's expression, an anger that Sarah could only confront with the scraps of patience she had left and her rising sense of outrage. "You're so keen to label me a villain that you never stop to question if I'm to blame in the first place. Whatever qualms you have with me are of your own doing, precious."_

"_I'm not your precious, and I'm getting really tired of having to tell you that!" Sarah ran a hand through her hair with a ragged, mirthless laugh, jerking her hand free as it caught in various tangles and knots. "I don't even know what I'm supposed to do, but everyone keeps telling me I have to go play hero and save everyone in the Underground. Here I am on a mission to who knows where, and all you've done is upend my life!"_

"_You were the one who agreed to come back." Jareth scowled as he rose from his bed, shedding for a moment his haggard demeanor. "Why go to all this trouble if you were just going to say no?"_

"_Because life's not fair," she countered. "I learned that lesson a long time ago, but if I have the chance to make it better, I'll take it."_

"_Ah, but that's the question then, precious: whose life were you hoping to make better?" His voice dropped into something akin to a growl, and as he approached, Sarah found herself backing away from the intensity of his gaze. His steps were slow and deliberate, more akin to stalking than simple fluid movement. "Maybe I misjudged you. Maybe you're still the same selfish brat from before."_

"_That...that's not—"_

"_Not true? Lies?" Jareth's laugh was harsher than his stare, and she flinched at the sound, unable to look away even as her back brushed against the wall. "When I asked if you were happy, you never did give me an answer. Perhaps, after all these years of caring for yourself, you've decided your self-imposed exile is too much. Tell me, did you return to save your friends, or did you come back here to stop yourself from feeling guilty?"_

_The hushed words aimed true, stinging with a bruising honesty. Whatever expression Sarah wore as she struggled to reply made the Goblin King chuckle. "As I suspected," he muttered. He stopped feet away, yet still the room felt dominated by his energy, as if every last part of his being went into this moment of claustrophobic, looming suffocation._

"_You don't know me," Sarah whispered. "You don't know the hell I've dealt with in trying to move past what happened."_

"_In trying to _forget_ what happened," Jareth corrected, venom lacing his phrasing. "There is a difference between overcoming and abandoning, as you know all too well."_

_His gaze drifted down to her neckline, and Sarah became conscious of the pendant whose weight brushed against her collarbone. "You are right in that I may not know you, but can you say with certainty that you know yourself?"_

_Again came that look, the one that promised no escape from an examination and retrieval of her deepest secrets. "I at least know what I'm not," she answered, coating her words in bitter, angered emphasis. "I'm not like you." _

"_No," the Goblin King softly agreed, "you might be the villain after all. The girl with the cruelest eyes, who cannot decide if she wants to play hero or coward." She caught a fleeting expression on his face, as if he had been struck by a revelation of some variety, before he resumed the same scowl. "You still haven't explained how you've entered my dreams, and given that they began once you returned to the Underground, I'm more than a little suspicious." _

"_I don't want to talk to you anymore. Let me out of this dream." A feeling coursed through Sarah's veins, warm and calling to mind the heat of fire as she swore the edges of her vision ripped ever so slightly. _

_Jareth took a step forward, never once releasing her from the pressure that commanded the room and surrounded his form. He reached out a bony, gloved hand, inches from her necklace. "What are you—"_

"_I said let me _out_!" _

_Everything shifted. The dream shattered before her, as it had seven years before in the magical ballroom—only this time there were no leering partygoers, no mirrored halls or masks. There was only the sensation of being yanked back, and the sight of a stunned Jareth growing smaller and smaller as if retreating down a long, black tunnel. Light gave way to shadow, and yet the pressure that surrounded the Goblin King followed her, chasing her across the darkness of her mind..._

Sarah sat upright with a quiet gasp, her eyes flying open to see the looming shadows of the pine forest in the morning light. Her hand flew to her necklace, and with a tug the knot ripped free, releasing her from the weight. Instinct nearly made her throw the medallion deep into the trees beyond, but she paused, her heart stuttering a rapid, angry beat against her ribcage. Whether it was anger or fear that caused her body to shake was unclear, as she sat amid her slumbering friends. The woods were silent, with only the faint hush of rustling needles saturating the air. Everything around her felt on edge, as if the entirety of the Underground held its breath.

She looked at the medallion, weighing her options in the palm of her hand before her shoulders slumped and she retired the knot around her neck. "I won't use it," she whispered, keeping her voice low so as not to disturb her friends. "I'll keep it, but I won't use it. I've made it this far without your help, and I can still keep going."

When her friends awoke later, she told them nothing of her nighttime meeting with their king, busying herself instead with gathering up their blankets and chatting amicably with Hoggle and Sir Didymus. As they once more set out, Sarah silently decided that it was better to not let her friends know of her strange dreams, conscious again of his symbol she wore around her throat.

Jareth had no power over her for the past seven years, and she was determined to keep it that way, even if it meant giving up sleep to make such a dream a reality.

* * *

**Well, my thesis was accepted and passed, and as of today I'm officially done with my graduate program! It's been a wild semester, and it's hard to believe I'm done with schooling for the time being. I can say now though that I officially live up to my username with my masters degree. **

**This chapter was a weird one to write, which is part of the reason it took me a month to finish it. The bridge sequence really held most of it up, because I wavered between having Sarah be the only one able to see it, OR having her be the only one unable to see it. In the end, one won out over the other because I could tie it into some interesting plot developments. The title was also tough here; in my drafts it's called "A Matter of Trust," but I found that after the bridge conversation it felt weird to call it that. So, much like chapter two, we return to Langston Hughes and the idea of dreams. Oddly enough, the dialogue was the easiest to work with this time around! I'm feeling a lot more confident in the character's voices the further I go, and I (hopefully) am making the back-and-forth sound more natural, particularly with Sarah and Jareth. The positive feedback from LFFL I received for portions of that conversation really helped! :) Thank you to the readers and reviewers thus far. All your comments have lifted my spirits in these uncertain times, and have encouraged me to keep this story going. **

**As for the next chapter, it's going to be a doozy. Chapter eight is the only chapter thus far that I planned out in its entirety before I've even written it, because a LOT of little hints and comments and events have been building to what will happen next. I've been really looking forward to writing it for months now, and I finally get to do so! I'll try to have it up before June, although with job searching it may take a little over a month. Either way, I'm very excited to share it once it's done, and I can't wait for all of you to read it!**

**Until next time. **


	8. The Goblin Market

Time moves differently for one without sleep, as Sarah discovered over the following two days. The forest blurred before her eyes, with nothing to distinguish one pine tree from another as the party trekked along. She hid her exhaustion from her friends, who thankfully became less and less engaged in conversation as they made their way deeper into the trees. If they noticed that she stayed up long after they had gone to bed, or seemed to be the first to wake each morning, neither of them commented on it. Perhaps they already knew the toll the journey had taken on her, given the bags under her eyes and her reluctance to speak at length. Instead, they pressed onward, bound to the mountain range that grew larger with each step. Nothing could stop the journey, as the wheels were already in motion toward whatever inevitability awaited them at the center of the Underground.

With the lack of sleep, the headache that bothered Sarah on and off returned with a vengeance, pounding and throbbing hard enough at times to make her fingers twitch. Rest might have relieved her tension, but she knew better than to give in to her body's desire. The cold stare of the Goblin King lingered in her mind beyond the dreamscape, and she refused to let him have any further control over her than simply haunting her thoughts. It was, she realized with brief chagrin, what she had dealt with for the last seven years—she moving on with her life, and he relegated to the outskirts of memory. The therapy sessions that helped her with her life post-teenage adventure once again proved useful, and she treated the next two days as if nothing had changed.

It was on the third day that the idea broke apart before her eyes.

It began subtly, through a shift in the forest landscape. The dense pine branches thinned out a few hours into the day, allowing orange sunlight to speckle the needles around the group. This was not notable at the time, as Sarah walked further behind while lost in her own thoughts, but it made for a beautiful sight to behold. Entranced by the light that played across the ground, she nearly missed the ongoing debate between Hoggle and Sir Didymus carried out in front of her. A name stuck out amid the jabbering, breaking through her clouded mind long enough for her to tune into the conversation. "Wait, what did you say about Jareth?"

Her question appeared to take Sir Didymus by surprise, but he answered nonetheless. "Friend Hoggle and I were discussing His Majesty's rulership—"

"—or lack of," interjected Hoggle.

This earned him a glare from the fox. "Well, it's certainly better than his predecessor. _That_ at least thou cannot deny."

"Hmm, well, you'd know all about that." Catching Sarah's puzzled expression, Hoggle added, "Sir Didymus here was alive when the Owl King fell, after all."

"Really?" Sarah turned her attention back to Didymus, who blushed at the sudden interest. "That was almost two hundred years ago!"

Ambrosius kept up a steady pace as his rider chuckled. "I was very young, my lady, on the day that the great lady Maria ran the Labyrinth for her son. What I know is hardly special; most of what I remember is from what my mother and father told me. Yet, I do recall the celebrations of my fellow denizens at the defeat of their former king. His Majesty may be...misguided at times, but he is fair and represents the goblins better than the late king ever could."

"Not surprised, he's got the goblin's backing, after all. That's what comes with your own mother breaking down the doors with a goblin revolution."

"Goblin revolution?" Hoggle's words conjured an image of Maria that was incongruous with the woman Sarah met before. "She mentioned it before, but I never did hear an explanation for what happened. How did someone running the Labyrinth upend a king?"

"Thou must understand," Didymus said, as he kept his eye on the distant trees, "that the Labyrinth was different back then. 'Twas a much crueler place, for runners and goblins alike, and the Owl King was the cruelest by far. His family line ruled the Underground since time immemorial, and eventually there were mutterings that a better king was needed—one that would have the approval of the goblins."

"They tricked Jareth's father into wishing him away, right? I remember that being talked about by a few goblins in the castle."

"Thou art correct, Hoggle. Thus, Lady Maria went to retrieve her child, allying with the goblin revolution to storm the goblin city and make her way to the castle. The Owl King tried and failed to stop her, and eventually it led to a showdown between her, her companions, the king, and his strongest men."

All three fell silent at that, continuing their wordless momentum until Sarah spoke up. "When I spoke to Maria, she said she was too late. So what happened to the Owl King? I mean, if Jareth ended up being made the Goblin King, then something must have gone down."

"That's the mystery, my lady, and one subject to rumor since I was old enough to remember such things. No one knows what happened in the castle that night, save for those who fought the Owl King himself. Some say that he died, and some claim he's still out there, biding his time before he returns to reclaim his throne. I, however, believe he is fully gone, banished out of existence once Lady Maria transformed the Labyrinth and His Majesty became our ruler. If the Owl King were not gone, he would have returned long ago."

Hoggle raised an eyebrow as he looked to Sarah. "Of course, there's still questions about what happened to Jareth to make him like he is now."

"Like he is now?"

"Oh yeah, all magical and stuff. He was a normal baby when he got here, but then a few days later, out pops His Royal Glittery Highness, all ready to be the Goblin King. How'd he end up growing so fast is what I want to know. Didymus, what do you think?"

However, Sir Didymus had brought Ambrosius to a halt, and held up a paw to make his companions do the same. "Listen," he hissed.

In the silence of the forest, the sound of far-off calls floated towards them on the breeze. Sarah strained to make out the words, noting the sound of running water overlapping whatever was being said. Distantly, she swore there were moving shapes beyond the trees, although she was still too far away to make out explicitly what lay ahead.

The knight, with his twitching ears, looked to Hoggle with barely contained horror. "My friend, do you hear them?"

Hoggle nodded, as Sarah whispered, "Hear who?"

"The goblin market."

Both her friends spoke in unison, which might have unnerved Sarah had she held any idea of what they were talking about. Something about the phrase sounded familiar to her, ticking at the corner of her mind and making her recall a semester in college with a monotone professor and a roommate frantically studying for a final exam. "You mean...wait, you mean like the poem?"

"I don't know anything about a poem," replied Hoggle, "but the goblins in the market aren't like the ones in the castle. They used to set up where runners would pass by, with these enchanted fruits. As soon as they saw 'em, the runners would be lost. They'd stay and eat the fruit and fail the run, and forfeit whoever they wished away. I've even heard that the runners become goblins themselves, and join the market."

What little sanity remained after two sleepless days clung in vain to scraps of college memory. "It certainly sounds like the poem, or at least what I remember. You weren't supposed to look at the goblins. Is there any way we can go around the market?"

"I think they've set up beside a stream," answered the knight, "and we have to cross in order to continue in the same direction. We must either go around for however-knows how long to get back on track, or risk moving straight through the market."

Sarah thought for a moment, listening again to the faint voices in the distance. "Would looking at the goblins enchant you two?" Seeing her friends shake their heads, her plan slipped into place. "If that's the case, then I just can't look."

"Well," Didymus conceded, "I suppose thou has a point, but how—"

There came a tearing sound that Hoggle flinched at, as Sarah ripped at her sleeves and tore a long piece of fabric from the tattered remains. "I can blindfold myself," she said, holding up the fabric, "and you both can guide me through the market until we're safely away from any goblins."

Sir Didymus and Hoggle looked to each other once more, but the worry in their eyes did not fade. "Sarah," Hoggle muttered, "this ain't like before, with Tangle or the bridge. The goblins here are dangerous, and their magic can't be resisted by your kind. That's why they're not in the proper Labyrinth, since Jareth had to banish the whole lot after too many runners were lost to 'em. If something goes wrong—if you _see _even a bit of one of their fruits—we won't be able to help you. You'll be lost."

Briefly, Sarah wondered if the risk was worth taking. There was an easier way around the goblin market, one that would prevent the dangerous encounter entirely at the cost of their time. How much time did they truly have? If she were to judge by Jareth's appearance in her dream...

She dropped the thought of the Goblin King from her mind, as if merely thinking of him would summon the dream to life. There was no time to spare, and she did not need a dream to confirm such a fact. "We've made it through worse," she said, meeting the uncertain eyes of her friends. "All I have to do is keep my eyes shut, and I can definitely do that, especially since I have you two with me."

Ambrosius barked, earning a chuckle from the party. "You too, you silly dog," Sarah added, scratching the canine behind the ears. His tail wagged at the attention, and both Hoggle and Didymus appeared more at ease as she held up the fabric to her eyes.

"I'll keep my eyes closed," she promised, "until you think it's ok for me to look again."

"If you don't look," Hoggle noted with a smile, "this should be a piece of cake."

Her headache throbbed, but Sarah held back the desire to wince at the sudden pain. Whether it was from the utterance of that cursed phrase was unclear, and there was no time to consider the implications. Instead, she tied the fabric in a makeshift blindfold around her eyes.

All she had to do was not look. Hoggle was right: this would be a piece of cake.

* * *

With her blindfold securely fastened, she was ready. Hoggle held tight to her left hand, while Didymus' small paw guided her on the right. Yet, Sarah saw nothing. There was only the blackness of stolen sight, with her vision obfuscated by both the blindfold and her own closed eyes. If it were not for her friends at her side, the experience would have been utterly disorienting. Adrenaline kept her afloat amid the darkness, and after a few cautious steps, she let herself be led into the unknown, trusting her friends would not lead her to danger.

Without her sight, her other senses unfurled. Dirt crunched underfoot, punctuated by the snap of pine needles or the occasional stray stone that skittered away with a light kick. She could feel the play of sun across her back in moments of warm touches, and she yearned to see how the light made its way through the forest. Two sounds grew in intensity as they moved: one the bubbling gurgle of a stream, and the other the low, dirge-like rumbles of what she assumed were the goblins of the market. They sang something unrecognizable, humming together until, suddenly, they stopped. Only the sound of water remained.

"Well, they've seen us," grumbled Hoggle. "Here we go, over the bridge."

Sarah felt the shift in terrain under her feet, as dirt gave way to logs that creaked at her crossing. The moment her feet touched the ground, sound erupted around her, as the goblin market came to life.

"Lady! Pretty lady! Come, come buy pretty fruits!"

"Fresh apples for the lady! Ripe plums, all for you!"

"Look at me! Look at what I can give you!"

Sarah flinched at the wall of sound encompassing the darkness, and felt Didymus squeeze her hand. "They want thee to look, my lady, but they are all bark and no bite. Thou wilt come to no harm while we have you by our side."

She nodded, afraid that if she spoke, she might display the fear that took residence inside her. The wails and pleads of the goblins grew in intensity, and although she could not see them, she could only imagine how many were there by the cacophony of voices all around. _Be brave_, she told herself with each step, _it's a piece of cake. _Sarah felt her fear fade, sinking instead into the darkness to escape the voices around her. There was the temptation to look, to peek at what wonders the goblins said they possessed. She knew better, or at least knew the danger in giving in to such desire. The blindfold held true, and her friends at her side barred her from reaching up and tugging it free. She owed it to them to keep going. She owed it to herself, at the very least.

After what felt like ages, the voices began to drop around her, falling quieter and eventually into near-silence as she continued walking, led only by the hands within her own. Finally, Sir Didymus' voice rang out amid the darkness. "The market is behind us, my lady. Thou art safe now to see once more, so long as thou does not look back."

Sarah breathed a sigh of relief, a sound echoed by Hoggle as she undid the knot at the back of her head. The forest became visible once more, as the light from the orange sky shone amid the pines. Ahead the dirt path led into a dense cropping of bushes whose green leaves looked almost black in the light that. She could still hear the rumblings of the goblins behind her, still desperate in their desire to have her look at their offerings. A laugh escaped her throat, triumphant and sharp, and she nearly remarked that the trial had been far easier than expected.

Perhaps it was fate, then, that a goblin bounded from around the bushes.

The goblin was no bigger than the knight at her side, with pickle-colored skin and a hat of brown fabric drooping across his head. He carried with him a covered basket that bounced in his grip as he jogged along, potentially late in selling his wares in the market. There was no time to question his motivations, nor to wonder why he was in such a hurry. The encounter between himself and the party was too fast to avoid, and judging by the way his golden eyes widened, they had caught him by surprise. In the midst of his surprise, in the second it took Sarah to register who was coming toward her, he lost his footing and tumbled forward.

The basket flew from his grip, and the cover came undone. It was too late to look away.

Fruit spilled across the path, the most glorious and beautiful fruit that Sarah had ever seen. Crisp, ripe apples bounced past her feet in a blur of ruby red. Oranges that matched the sky caught the light as they rolled, with their weight squishing stray grapes in a splatter of vivid purples and greens. She heard Didymus cry out to her, but his voice sounded faint and far-off, hardly present amid the myriad of colors that punctuated her vision. Nothing else registered in the haze that consumed her mind.

The urge to turn back overcame her, and she turned to see the market illuminated in the light from the sun. Behind her lay a small break in the trees, a grove nestled into a river that curved like a horseshoe around a campsite. A scattering of tents reached for the orange sky, their spires intertwined with smoke emanating from fires and torches around the camp. Amid them were goblins, perhaps two dozen of various sizes and shapes, and Sarah caught glimpses of tails, and of mouse faces or wolf ears, as the group silently stared. These goblins were more animalistic than any she had seen before, yet strangely beautiful. They entranced her vision completely, and she felt the urge to go to them, to look upon them closely and see if they held fruit as breathtaking as the ones around her feet.

Someone or something tugged at her sleeve, but it did nothing to thwart her movement. She did not stop to see who or what it was.

Her movements were slow and trance-like as she made her way to the now-silent goblin crowd, fixated upon the bounty of nature that they carried. All held fruit in their palms, glorious fruits that she recognized as flawless, perfect ideas of what fruit should be. Plums a brilliant purple rested in a few hands. Lemons the color of her own sun glistened amid the crowd, mirroring the golden eyes of the goblins. It was beautiful, utterly beautiful and magical beyond compare. There was nothing else in the world but the market, nothing to take her attention away as one goblin shoved his way to the front of the crowd. This one was taller and lankier than his companions, with the countenance of a wolf and a face to match. He grinned as she approached, showing fangs stained with the juice of various fruits as he hissed, "Come. Eat with us." His eyes, like his companions, were entirely black, and as he held out his clawed hand, they appeared to glow.

In his hand was the most perfect peach, plump and begging to be eaten. The sight made Sarah hunger for a bite and imagine the rich taste that awaited her. She wanted nothing more than to sink her teeth into its tender flesh, and feast upon the juice that it promised to hold. Yet, the black eyes that met hers felt familiar, and a part of her mind struggled to recall why as she reached for the fruit.

Through the haze, she thought of owls. For the briefest second, she escaped the pressure that bore down upon her, and the right word finally fell from her lips.

"Jareth."

The pendant around her neck shattered.

Her fingers brushed against soft peach fuzz.

And the pain in Sarah's head exploded, as the world fell down.

* * *

Far from the goblin market, the sensation of someone calling his name awakened a sleeping monarch.

There was something vaguely familiar in the ripple that washed over Jareth's skin, prompting an intake of breath as he sat upright in his bed. He recognized the pull of a wish, starved as he was for any semblance of what once had been. The wish burrowed into his mind as he clutched at his sheets, its owner as familiar to him as the touch of his own power.

Then, a wave of magic—strong magic, as strong as his own—slammed into him, driving the breath from his lungs. Something had happened in the depths of the Labyrinth, something that could not be coincidence given the utterance of his name. He swore, and in an instant vanished in a cloud of glitter, bound as he was to answer to the boon granted within his dreams.

* * *

Within the castle walls, a crowded ballroom stilled. The swishing of silken dresses and the gentle murmur of conversation fell silent, and the guests shivered as the prickle of strong, strange magic swept over them.

"Curious," muttered a tall man with long, pale hair. His mask did not betray emotion, as he turned to his dance partner to remark, "Whatever could that be?"

Maria lowered her intricate Venetian mask from her paling face. "The girl," she whispered, placing a hand to her heart and handing her mask to a nearby servant. "Something has happened to the Champion of the Labyrinth."

* * *

At the center of the Labyrinth, someone felt the wave of magic and chuckled.

"She's awakened," hissed a voice. "What does this mean?"

"It means," came the reply, "that there's been an interesting twist in our plan—one that we can use to our benefit."

* * *

And in a world without magic, Toby Williams paused in his playing. He was certain that, for the briefest moment, he had heard the voice of his sister...

* * *

The goblins of the market barely knew what hit them.

In a flash of feathers, the Goblin King descended in a fury upon the screeching masses. He bowled over those in his way, and with a glare bogged those who rushed at his royal person. Something had changed in the Labyrinth—magic rolled through him, suffocating the chill in the air with heat. Raw power lit a fiery trail through his veins as his lips curled into a snarl. Many of the remaining goblins fled in terror, upending their fruit as they put value into their lives rather than their livelihoods.

Transformation did not bring pain, as the magic came easily to move from owl to man. Jareth scowled as the last goblin rushed across the stream and into the forest, watching even after he had darted from view, as if to confirm that the menace would not return. Satisfied, he turned around to focus on the woman who had finally felt the need to call upon him...and froze.

There was something deeply, utterly wrong with Sarah.

Magic poured from her, twisting the light as it rippled and flowed into the earth. Her back arched as she clawed at pine needles and dirt, scrambling for a grip as the power overtook her. Through all this, she did not speak, her eyes wide and unseeing as she gasped for air and strained towards the sky. Pressure surrounded her like a wall, strong enough to make Jareth flinch at the sheer intensity of its force. He felt magic ripple and bend around him, uncontrolled and raw as it radiated unseen from the very form of Sarah Williams. This was something he had not foreseen, something he had hoped beyond hope would never come to pass. He recognized what was before him.

For the first time in his life, the Goblin King felt fear.

Out of the corner of his eye, motion. He glanced to see her companions, who had begun to move towards her in horror, perhaps in an attempt to ease whatever pain they were witnessing. Fear was banished in an instant, as Jareth instead took up the age-old countenance of the mighty, fearsome persona he wore so well.

"Don't touch her!" Hoggle and Sir Didymus jumped at Jareth's command, whirling around to face him as he strode forward. "She's being overpowered by her own magic—if you touch her, you'll burn to nothing but ash."

The knight stammered a few undecipherable words, but fell silent as he took in his king's expression. Hoggle, on the other hand, did not hesitate to speak his mind. "What's wrong with her?! What did you do?"

"This is her own doing," Jareth spat, ignoring the desire to banish the insolent dwarf to the coldest, darkest oubliette he could find. "She denied what powers she had again and again, and this is the consequence of such inaction."

"Thou hast to stop it."

Sir Didymus' voice rang out amid the chaos, much to everyone's surprise. He spoke again as Jareth gave him attention. "Please, Your Majesty, she doesn't deserve this. She said the right words."

Jareth paused, and reached up with a hand to touch the pendant that had, somehow, reappeared around his neck. If his facade fell, it was brief in its exposure, before he glared once more and made his way to kneel by Sarah's side. She did not notice his presence as he pulled his gloves off of his hands, trapped as she was in the overwhelming nature of magic.

He placed one hand upon her shoulder, and dug the other into the dirt, ignoring the sensation of soil under her nails as magic crashed through him. There was no time to breathe, nor to think. Power overwhelmed all, heat rushing into his body and reviving the aspects of his own power that lay dormant for so long. He gasped as he felt himself brought back from the brink of death, no longer a husk of a king as he channeled the magic away from Sarah. Yet, even for himself, it was too much. Sweat began to drip from his brow as his vision wavered. He struggled against the tide of power, a tide that flooded him beyond what even he could handle. It threatened to overwhelm him, to burn him alive with sheer, destructive force. With his strength fading, the Goblin King realized too late that he had taken up an impossible task. Sarah Williams would be the end of him, caught as he was in his duty to fulfill what very well could be her last request.

In the back of his mind, he felt the pinprick of a different, yet familiar magic, one that carried with it his mother's concern. Then, it was gone.

Moments later, another figure crouched at Sarah's side.

Maria, She with the Unvanquished Heart, mirrored the stance of her son as she bowed her head in concentration, letting the magic flow through her as a conduit into the Underground. She said not a word, but after a moment, the power emanating from Sarah began to lessen. Jareth and Maria focused, opening themselves to the energy that flowed and eventually trickled until, finally, the woman between them crumpled with closed eyes. Light returned to normal, all magic spent from the young woman, and mother and son relaxed.

"Is she-"

"She's fine now," Jareth said with a sigh. "Thank you, mother. It was...it was too much for me."

"It was harder than it was with you," Maria muttered, looking at her son with unconstrained shock upon her face. "Jareth, what _happened_? When did she get like this?"

Jareth looked down at Sarah, unconscious and spent from her ordeal. "I didn't think this would occur. She's always denied what happened here, and I assumed...well, what you assumed, that she held no power at all."

"And you never thought to tell her the truth? She almost _died_, ripped apart by her own..." The two stared silently at the young woman, as Maria failed to finish what was on her mind.

Eventually, she spoke, only after both had caught their breath. "She needs to rest. All that magic has helped the Labyrinth, but you can already feel that. It's bought the land time. We can figure out what this means once she's awake."

Despite being a king, Jareth knew better than to argue with his mother, and nodded as he put on his gloves. In a smooth motion, he lifted Sarah, noting how light she felt within the confines of his arms. Maria spoke to Hoggle and Sir Didymus, but he paid little attention, overwhelmed by the sensation of warm, unobstructed power within him. He glanced down at the woman he carried, sighing at her slumber.

"Oh you precious thing," he whispered, tracing a gloved finger across her cheekbone, "what have you become?"

In a cloud of glitter and a flash of rectangular light, all were gone, and the forest was silent once more, infused with the new energy that permeated the Labyrinth. Trampled tents and crackling embers of torches were all that marked the site of the goblin market, and yet there was something else, something unseen by those who had kept Sarah alive.

For in the spot where her fingers had dug into the earth of the Underground, a sapling of white wood with a single, kaleidoscopic leaf grew and glistened with magic.

* * *

**I apologize for completely missing the target window of "before June" for this update, but man, did this chapter turn out to be a struggle to work with. What you've read is actually the fourth attempt at the chapter! I actually had 80% ready to go by the end of May, but something about what I had just wasn't lining up with how I envisioned things happening. So, I trashed that draft and started anew, which...also led nowhere. It wasn't until last week that I started up again and stuck with it, and finally got this chapter to a point where I could safely say "ok, yes, this works the way I want it to." It's particularly hard because this is one of what I call "The Big Ones," or a massive core event that changes something about the story. If you think of it as a play or TV show, this would be end of Act 1 or the finale for a season. So a lot has to happen in this chapter, and happen well. **

**In particular, this chapter had a LOT going on. We've got the quintessential reference to the Rosetti poem _Goblin Market_ (which I only learned about last year, and taught as a TA), we've got one of two instances where the perspective shifts from Sarah, and then there's the twist! Magic is here! I'm really looking forward to talking about magic in the upcoming chapters, because it's something that I can go into a lot of sensory detail over. If there's one thing I like, it's sensory detail. Or I guess just detail in general! **

**Thank you as always to the readers and reviewers, as I've loved reading the reactions to what's happening, and seeing some guesses as to what is to come. It means a lot to see such support, especially in these wild times. **

**In terms of next chapter's update date, I'm not entirely sure when it'll be done. Before the end of July is my best estimate, but given than I tend to take longer whenever I put down a specific time, I'd hate to curse myself. I'll aim for the end of July at the very latest. **

**Until next time. **


	9. Strange Allies with Warring Hearts

At first, she heard only whispers.

They were muffled, distant sounds, unable to be placed or made out as they grew in multitude. Never wavering in their cacophony, they resembled an invisible choir, keen on releasing noise more static than song. Yet, as Sarah Williams came to consciousness, the whispers faded away, lost to the ether of darkness to be replaced by somewhere soft and quiet.

Everything ached. Her body were tense and tired, and briefly she lost herself to the textual sensation of lying in the softest bed she ever knew. Even with closed eyes, she could feel the gentle layering of sheets atop her. Blessedly, her head no longer pounded or throbbed, nestled as it was in several pillows—instead, she felt exhausted, worked beyond her limit. Still lost at the boundary of awakening, Sarah slowly realized that wherever she now lay was definitely not where she had last been. Instead, the stale scent of mint hung in the air, and the faintest taste of peach juice lingered at the back of her throat, subtle enough to perhaps be a dream.

The taste, however, conjured up memories of ballrooms and laughing crowds, of both goblins and humans alike. Her throat clenched tight in panic, as her body triggered a response to the idea that once more, peaches had led to a situation beyond her control. She fought back the urge to vomit, but as her eyes flew open, panic gave way to shock.

This was the room of the Goblin King.

Nothing had changed since her visitation to this very room, except for daylight that poured in a creamy orange array from the windows. It caught on the velvet curtains that once held back the night—she could recall the feeling of them just from sight alone. That alone was as odd as her exhaustion, for her senses were unfamiliar. Everything felt...sharper, in a way that Sarah could not put into words. The light felt more vibrant than before, and the colors of all in front of her popped dazzlingly before her eyes. She could only look around in awe, uncertain if she were still dreaming, until her eyes alighted on wild blonde hair.

Jareth had his back to her, as he slouched forward on a couch in front of the fire. He held himself in a way unseen before, a hunched, vulnerable posture that leaned towards the small fireplace. If he sought counsel in the embers, he did not find answers. This was not the arrogance she usually saw, nor the weak king she encountered in her dreams. This was the stance of someone shaken to the core.

Memories, hazy and scattered, returned to Sarah. Memories of pendants shattering, and peaches touched, and the feeling that every nerve in her body had burst into flame. Then...something she once again could not describe, something beyond her understanding that blurred into whatever unconscious she awoke from. Something had happened, and if it was related to Jareth, it had to be a cause for concern.

Perhaps she made a noise, or perhaps he somehow read her racing thoughts, for Jareth's head tilted in that familiar avian way. "You're awake," he murmured, although he did not move to face her. She had not heard him speak this way since the meeting in her apartment—with equal parts caution and concern—and that alone was another sign of something wrong.

"Am I? The last time I was here in a dream," Sarah croaked with a wince. Her words were cracked and warped by lack of use, but she pushed on. "This better still be a dream, or you better have a really good reason for me ending up in your bed."

While she could not see his smile, she could hear it, briefly, in his voice. There was no humor, however, in the way he spoke, replaced instead by a wryness that she did not understand. "Why precious, there are few who get such an opportunity. I thought you'd relish the chance to see my private chambers."

"You still haven't told me why I'm here."

"It was the first place I thought of, to be honest. This is the only room in the goblin castle where one can be undisturbed for two days."

"_Two days_?" He delivered the news so casually, yet it ripped through Sarah. She sat up, and may have leaped from the bed had her muscles not nearly given out on her. Instead, she collapsed back into the nest of pillows, doing her best to keep her upper body vertical despite her exhaustion. "What the hell did that necklace you gave me do to put me out for two days?"

"Oh, it wasn't the necklace, that I can promise you."

"So, what happened?"

The Goblin King appeared reluctant to answer her, and his head tilted to the opposite side. "It would appear that you are more..._connected_ to the Underground than you think."

"...I don't understand."

"I hardly understand it myself." Jareth rose at that moment from the couch to move closer to the fire, and rested an arm against the mantle. All she could see was his back, cloaked once more in black armor. She swore it glittered in the light as he spoke. "I was under the impression that you returned to your home with nothing more than your brother. It seems, however, that you walked away less unscathed than you believed."

His fingers drummed against the mantle of the fireplace, leather against wood taking up a staccato rhythm as Sarah turned his words over in her head. "I told you that already, when you showed up in my apartment," she remarked, twitching at the slight pain that came with creasing her brow. "I thought you knew about the wishes."

"I did." His voice felt too easy-going, as if the pair conversed over trivial matters like the weather. Yet, there was something else in the undercurrents of his tone, some edge that carried over whether he realized it or not. "My assumption was that you refused to use the powers I graciously gave to you. But that is not what I'm referring to in this situation."

"Powers? What powers?" It occurred to Sarah that she had begun to veer away from her original question, so she course-corrected immediately. "How do wishes connect to me touching a peach and waking up in your castle?"

"There's no connection. I'm not talking about your adventure; I'm talking about the consequences of your victory."

"You're still not making any sense. If you mean the thing with the wishes, I stopped because it was too dangerous for me to handle."

Judging by the slight shaking of his shoulders, the Goblin King looked to be on the verge of flying off the handle. "Well," he said, each word working its way with difficulty from between his clenched teeth, "there's more to it than that. Honestly, I'm surprised that you haven't put it together. You came into my dreams uninvited, accusing it to be of my own design. The first time I thought it a coincidence; the second time, when you broke the dream of this very room apart, I realized it was something more. This goes beyond simple wishes, precious. You've once again upended my expectations, only this time it almost cost you more than a little brother."

"Quit playing around," Sarah grumbled, finally losing her composure. "Jareth, what the hell happened to me?"

"You almost _died_," he snapped, "because you could not control your magic."

This time, the silence was brief and broken by Sarah's sputtering laugh of disbelief. "You're shitting me. I don't have magic. There's nothing magical about me!"

"Oh there most certainly is," said Jareth, as his fingers quickened their rhythm. "You've hidden it well since the last time you were in the Labyrinth. It has built and built all this time, ignored and unchanneled, unseen and uncontrolled. Had you not come into contact with that enchanted peach, you might have continued to ignore its presence until your lack of control made it eat you alive."

There was too much to process, too much information that flew by before she could fully comprehend it all. "Hang on, slow down. What the hell do you mean by 'hidden it well'? It's not like I woke up and found I could, I don't know, turn into an owl. If I had known about this, I would've done something."

"Would you?" The rhythm of his fingers abruptly ceased. "This is not something to happen out of nowhere. There should have been signs, perhaps a few moments where you unknowingly grasped at something you chalked up to luck. You would have had to ignore or dismiss much for things to have played out thus far."

Sarah, bewildered at the turn in tone, could only shake her head. "I mean, I've had headaches on and off ever since you showed up. It happens sometimes, and it's never been tied to whatever magic you think I have. If it was something I couldn't handle, I would've told Sir Didymus and Hoggle—I just didn't think it was a big deal."

"_Would_ you have said anything? Or would you have pushed it away again, like you have with your wishes and your friends?"

She could almost hear Hoggle's plea from a few nights ago echo, as he begged her to not end up like the cruel being before her. At the moment, she could not see how she could ever make his nightmare a reality. "That's not fair. I thought everything was over the minute I left the Labyrinth, so I moved on with my life."

"Yes, you shut out everything and everyone around you, striving for some idea of normal you'll never have. Things are never _fair_, Sarah; I thought you already learned that lesson. You are changed now, no longer the same innocent girl trying to undo a wish. For all your talk of not wanting to play the hero, you've ended up with the rewards of a champion. Deny it and push it away all you want. It will not change the truth."

"I don't want this. Look, I can give the back to you if that's what you're mad about."

"Give it back? What's done is done." He barked a laugh, a cold noise that made Sarah flinch. "You've ended up with power beyond human comprehension, and yet you wish to throw it all away? For what? Your facade of a normal life?"

Like an avalanche, Sarah's anger cascaded and grew as she gestured at the room and angered king in front of her. "I didn't ask for any of this! If you were _so _concerned over me having magic, you should've shown up in your glittery bullshit and told me."

"You never wished for me!"

"Oh, like that's ever stopped you before. You're the damn Goblin King, so why the hell didn't you do something when I started popping up in your dreams? Why not tell me before I left with my friends, or before we came across the market? Why stay away for all this time?"

"Because _I have no power over you_."

Jareth whirled about, and for the first time in years, Sarah saw the Goblin King in all his chaotic fury. His eyes were wild and bright once more, and while he still looked paler than normal, he imposed something dark and powerful in the room. This was no longer a skeleton king, but one who looked like he had in her apartment kitchen: frantic, tired, aged. Yet, hidden in that anger was what she swore was fear, a fear that felt so incongruous with the man before her.

His fingers dug into the mantle, and the stone cracked under the force of his anger. "The right words have _power_, and you of all people should know what the consequences of such words can be. You beat me, you said the right words, and I was bound to follow them to the fullest extent they could bear. It is why I could not reach you after you broke apart my dream, and I had only to wait for you to sleep or call on me. But you did _nothing_! Had you not called upon me, had you not given me a _grain_ of power over you, you would have died. Your stubbornness, and your desire to avoid any and all connection to the Underground, has nearly cost you your life!"

He was too far gone now in his rage and fear, beyond the point of pulling back. Sarah could only bear silent witness as he began to pace in front of her. The fire, although small, cast wavering shadows over half of the king's face, like the moon eclipsing the sun. "I seem to be," he snarled, giving up on shouting for the time being, "unable to escape from the role of villain you put upon me. You come to me in dreams, then accuse me of ensnaring you. You take my gifts, and then refuse to use them. I save your friends, and yet you treat me as a threat. How far will you go to struggle against me? Will you fight me tooth and nail until the very world around you fades away?"

"You can't blame this on me," she replied with increasing incredulity. "Beating you was supposed to be the end of everything—I won, and I left you alone. Hell, I left everyone alone! How was I supposed to know about some kind of hidden magic?"

"Because you..." It was as if some thought crossed through his mind, flipping a switch on his emotions. Sarah watched the anger seep from Jareth, as he unclenched his fists and turned away from her gaze. Whatever emotion overtook him became something forbidden from her eyes. "You didn't know," he muttered, "and neither did I."

The tension still hung between them, settling heavy and dense within the room. Jareth, with his now-expired rage, said nothing more. Sarah let out a breath she had held unknowingly, relishing the release of anger that followed. In its place was mere acceptance in the face of what she still could not fully comprehend. She cringed at how her voice felt small and weak in her throat. "You keep saying you're not the villain, but you're still acting like the same king who sent Cleaners after me seven years ago, or trapped me in a drug-induced dream. I get that you're mad that I beat you, and I get that you've tried to move on from that, and maybe having to come to me for help just brings up bad memories. I understand wanting to leave everything that happened in the Labyrinth behind. Honestly, I tried to forget about most of it, but everything just kept reminding me of this place, and the person I used to be."

She could feel Jareth's eyes upon her, but she directed her attention to the window, and the view of the Labyrinth outside, as she continued to speak. "I think I shut everything out because I didn't want to go back to the person I was before I wished Toby away. I just wanted to be a better person and a normal teenager, not one whose wishes came true or who had friends living in her mirror. It helped at the time to not think about it, and pretend that the Labyrinth wasn't a thing that happened to me. But it did. You asked me the other night if I knew myself, and honestly, I don't think I do. I don't know if I ever will. What I do know, though, is that I want my friends to be safe, even if I'm not in their life after all this. I owe it to them—and you too, I guess—to make things right. But you can't expect me to know all the answers. I'm not the same heroic girl everyone thinks I am. I'm just...Sarah Williams. I'm _me_, and that's all you've got."

Silence. Sarah diverted her gaze back to the king, and was surprised at his attentiveness. He had finally stopped pacing, and leaned against the back of the sofa with his arms crossed. While indifference shrouded his face, his eyes did not waver from her. Lingering within them was that emotion she had seen before in their first reunion, that unnamed feeling that escaped all definition. "You," he said after a moment's pause, "are exactly who the Labyrinth needs. I came to you because I needed the girl who ate the peach and knocked down the goblin castle. I needed _Sarah Williams_, Champion of the Underground, no matter who she had become. You have a stubborn heart, but it is a heart all the same."

Sappy statements did not suit the Goblin King, and he scowled for a second as if his words had offended him. "The point is that the Labyrinth is in need of a hero, and despite your reluctance to be just that, you've taken on the role all the same. If you had truly left your past behind, you wouldn't have come back at all."

The heat of a blush colored Sarah's cheeks, much to her embarrassment. Perhaps sensing the intensity of his gaze, Jareth smirked, and she fought back the desire to roll her eyes as the moment passed. "Maybe. But for now, it's probably better to keep going forward. What does all this new magic change in regard to saving the Underground?"

"Everything. Nothing." He shrugged, the anger exhausted from his body. "Things cannot go back to how they once were, for you and for the Labyrinth. How you managed to come into such power is beyond my understanding, and I don't think it to be coincidence that it's manifested at such a critical time. There is something more at work here. It may be time to search for someone who can help us."

"Who?"

"There is a being with a deep connection to the Underground," said Jareth, as he unfurled himself off the couch and resumed his pacing. This lacked the cool stride that characterized his usual movement; his steps were slower, as he thought aloud. "I, and the rulers who've come before me, have called her the Oracle. It is said that she sees the very threads of magic that make up our world, glimpses of what has come and what will be done."

Sarah took the opportunity to shift into a more comfortable position, careful to not push her body to the point of pain. "So, there's someone who can see the future, and you're only now mentioning it to me? Why wait until now to get answers for everything happening?"

"I attempted to find her, but was unsuccessful before I came to you. The Oracle is...solitary, never in one place at any given time. Twice I've encountered her, and she has come to me when I least expected it." He paused momentarily in his pacing, then shook his head, silently dismissing some type of thought as he resumed the back-and-forth motion. "There is talk that she has moved towards the mountains that flank the center of the Labyrinth. If the rumors are true, then seeking her advice should not be difficult."

"Is there time to find her? I thought everything was supposed to be fading away, and you were..."

"Dying?" Jareth's smirk did not fade, as he broke from his pacing to stand in front of the window. In the light of the orange sun, he appeared ethereal, a wisp of wheat brought to life before the land. "My demise has been...postponed, for the time being. The Underground still fades, but your release of power gave it energy, enough to keep things stable for now. You have bought us time, and I dare not squander any of it."

"Good. That'll give you a chance to train me."

If she had seen him taken aback before, this instance went beyond those fleeting moments, as the indifference he usually wore shattered into utter bafflement. Sarah nearly laughed at his shock as he faced her. "_Train_ you?!"

"You said I nearly died because I couldn't control my power. Obviously, you have control over yours, so maybe you can help me learn to use it." It was her turn to shrug, as if her request were mundane. "If you want me to meet this Oracle, or figure out what's wrong with the Labyrinth, I might as well work with what I have."

Sarah watched Jareth sputter and then pause, considering her request with a tilt of his head. "You don't realize what you're asking. It will not be easy, nor will it be quick. To channel the magic of the Labyrinth takes years, and we simply don't have the time."

"So, teach me the basics. Magic 101. Whatever I need to know to keep from exploding into ash."

For the first time, she saw him smile. Not a smirk, nor an all-out grin, but something quick and subtle, a flash of recognized humor that broke through his regular indifference before it vanished. "Very well. I'll teach you what I can. But," he interrupted, holding up a gloved finger as Sarah started to speak, "in exchange, I'm joining you and your companions in your quest."

Seeing her raise an eyebrow in confusion, Jareth could only chuckle and add, "I said before that I could not accompany you to the center. My ability may still not be what it was, but like I said before, I dare not waste the opportunity of temporary good health. If I am to train you and find the Oracle, it only makes sense for me to come along and utilize what time I have."

"I'm surprised you'll let the goblins run amok in your absence."

"Oh, they'll run amok regardless of whether I'm around. My mother will keep them from starting a revolution while I'm away."

Sarah couldn't help the yawn that escaped her throat, earning her a look from Jareth. His strange cheer dissipated in an instant. "You need to rest," he muttered with a look towards the door, "if you wish to harness your magic properly. Expelling all that energy took a toll on your body, and if we are to leave tomorrow, we must take what chances we can to prepare. Which, in your case, means sleep."

"I feel like I've slept for days."

"You have, but that is the price for draining you of magic." Seeing her wince at the stiffness in her body, his stern gaze softened. "It hurts now," he said, lowering his voice to a murmur, "but it always hurts at first. The last time a human learned magic in the Underground, it was quite a struggle before things worked themselves out."

This was news Sarah had not heard before. "Who was the last human to learn?"

Another chuckle. "That would be me."

Without further explanation, the Goblin King bid Sarah a good rest. His tone invited no further time for questions, as he headed towards the large oaken door on the other side of the bed. As he pulled it open to step out into the hall, Sarah called out. "Jareth?"

He paused, waiting.

"Thank you. For saving me."

Jareth looked back, and she caught a flash of his mismatched eyes as her thanks nestled between them. "I did what I had to," came his reply, and then he was gone, shut behind a door to the rest of the castle.

Once again the room was stifled in silence, save for the fire that crackled and popped. Sarah settled back into the bed—which, if she was being honest with herself, was luxuriously soft—and let her body succumb to the desire for sleep. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of a red cover on the bedside table, and at first she smiled. The realization that the strange tome was nearby, however, briefly jogged her memory. There was something Jareth had said in their conversation that she had forgotten about, something that sounded so familiar but yet unable to be placed. What had it been? Something about powers…something lingering just out of grasp of understanding…

There was no time to ponder, as she drifted off into sleep. Yet, on the edge of unconsciousness once more, whispers nudged their way into her mind, faint and imperceptible enough that she only half-registered the sound. She felt a heavy warmth engulf her, comforting in its weight and heat within her veins.

Had she been more awake, she might have experienced the taste of peach juice on her tongue, faint as if pulled from a dream.

* * *

**Well, this will definitely be the first and last time I name a chapter after Dave Matthews Band lyrics...**

**I always envisioned Jareth and Sarah having some communication issues, especially since Sarah views the Goblin King as the villain of her childhood. Yet, this is a story about two people having to work through the past they've attempted to leave behind, and trying to capture that proved really difficult for this chapter. Dialogue is not my strong suit! But, there's a lot that gets revealed here (and a lot that DOES NOT get answered too. We can't solve every mystery and have characters reveal every secret ;P), and some important set-up for what's to come. It's time to start the journey towards the only OC I'll ever have in my fanfics! With, uh, some bumps along the way. But we'll get to those later. **

**Thank you to all the readers and reviewers enjoying this work so far! Being able to see everyone react and anticipate the next chapter has really made these months in quarantine easier. Also, as of a few days ago, **_Unearthed_** is officially a year old! Yay! I started this work in a dark place in my life, as I returned to things that used to make me happy after receiving my diagnosis. What a year it's been. It's been so wonderful to see the reception within the Labyrinth community to this fic, and I hope to continue to provide exciting chapters in the times to come.**

**As for when the next chapter will be out...well, I'm aiming for late August! That may be a little difficult though, because I'm in the middle of moving! It's part of the reason I'm posting this chapter at 11:15 PM my time, because I've been so busy moving and touring new places to live. The next chapter is definitely less dialogue-heavy though, so I think I should hit that August goal easily enough...but if I get it up by early September, I won't be too upset. After all, next chapter, we get some *Magic 101 with Jareth*, and that's going to be REAL fun. :)  
**

**Until next time. **


	10. The Color of Magic

Even since the clock struck thirteen, the Labyrinth had lingered on in Sarah's mind, despite her attempts to cast it aside. It had never been easy—giving up memories never was—and at times over the last seven years, she caught herself on the verge of remembering the hours she spent Underground. Some things had been easier to push aside than others, but the outlier, and the trickiest of all to leave behind, had always been the Goblin King. Sarah had only known him as an enigmatic figure, wreathed in magic and mayhem, something beautiful yet terrifying all the same. The terrible beauty remained, but in the time since their reunion, the mystery surrounding the monarch lessened in increments.

For example, Jareth's room, despite the mysterious nature of its owner, offered a glimpse of life beyond mere surface-level assumptions. More precisely, there were hints of the Goblin King all around the space, scatterings of personality that caught Sarah's attention once she woke the morning after her last conversation with Jareth. Papers were strewn across the ornate desk, for example, suggesting that Jareth actually did some sort of work within his realm. The cushions of the couch in front of the fireplace were rumpled, as if someone had slept upon them and failed to straighten up afterwards. A door on the far side of the room stood slightly ajar, allowing a glimpse of glittering fabrics that caught the morning light.

All of these small pieces were clear examples of a humanity that Jareth never outwardly displayed. It felt strange to think of her childhood adversary as someone with a life beyond villainous intent, but the details surrounding her showed otherwise. Yet, the mystery of the king remained, complicated by his words and deeds of both past and present. In Sarah's eyes, he still remained a trickster, neither good nor evil but somewhere amid the chaotic in-between of morality. What did that make her, now that she had magic? Much like her view of the Goblin King, Sarah felt as though she could not see herself as she had before. She was no longer the same young girl hell-bent on saving Toby, and she could not claim to be an ordinary teacher at this point in her adventure. Magic, it seemed, had created some new Sarah, and she could not help but wonder who this new person would become.

Someone knocked, and she cleared her head of magic and kings as the door opened, and a streak of white and gray bounded into the room with a joyous cacophony of barks. Ambrosius wasted no time in leaping onto the bed, and he wagged his whole body as he pelted a laughing Sarah with licks. Sir Didymus, however, was less amused by such antics as he entered the room. "Ambrosius! Get down from there, before you hurt the fair lady!"

Ever obedient despite a whine of dismay, the sheepdog returned to the floor and settled instead for sitting at the edge of the bed. Sarah could not resist the pull of his doe-eyed look, and scratched him behind the ears. "Hi buddy," she cooed as his tail thumped against the floor, "I missed you too." Glancing up, she directed her smile to her visitors. "It's good to see all of you again!"

She did not exaggerate, as her two friends looked healthier than they had in the days since she had first seen them. Both Sir Didymus and Hoggle smiled as they stepped through the doorway, but they did not possess the same unfiltered joy as their friend. Instead, the two looked more relieved than pleased, although the knight's boisterous nature made it appear otherwise. He moved to stand beside his steed as he clasped a paw to his heart. "My lady! It brings me great joy to see thee in good health!"

"We was worried about you." Hoggle hung back from his companions, as if being closer to the door provided him needed security. He cleared his throat, and spoke again in a stronger voice that faltered as he went along. "After what happened with the goblin market...you touched that peach and we...I thought we..."

"We must apologize, my lady," Didymus said as he removed his cap. His paws worried the brim of the fabric. "T'was our faults that thou fell into danger in the first place. I am a sorry excuse for a knight, when I let the fairest and kindest lady in the Labyrinth nearly perish on my watch. I can only beg for thine forgiveness."

"It's not any of your faults! There's nothing to apologize for, I promise. Honestly, if anything, it's my fault." As both dwarf and knight opened their mouths to argue, Sarah cut them off with a shake of her head. "No, seriously, if there's anyone we can blame, it's me for taking off that blindfold too early...and for not speaking up sooner about feeling strange. We could have avoided this if I was more open with you both."

Hoggle and Sir Didymus fell silent, as the latter looked back at the former, who shuffled closer. "I won't ask why you never mentioned it," Hoggle said, "it won't change anything. But Sarah, I...we thought you were gonna die, right in front of us. After everything we'd been through, we couldn't even help keep you safe from one lousy peach."

Sarah abandoned scratching Ambrosius to take the dwarf's hand within her own, a movement that made him jump at her touch. "I'm sorry," she murmured, "I never wanted to worry you. There's a lot that's happened lately, and a lot of it I'm still trying to figure out. I spent a lot of time doing it on my own, but I think it's time to let people in. You both trust me, and I need to trust you."

Sir Didymus plopped his hat back onto his head, reached out, and placed a paw in with his companions. Some of his worry evaporated into a softer emotion, with a smile that carried a gentle, understanding warmth. "Not to worry, my lady," he said, "we are here to help! The Underground may be unbalanced, but we still are thy friends. Thou will always have us at thy side."

Hoggle nodded, yet he could not meet Sarah's eyes. Instead, his free hand balled into a fist, and he slowly shook his head and opened his mouth to speak, before thinking better of it and closing it again. Something warred just below the surface of his being, and she wondered briefly if it was something she had said that brought on such discord. Yet in an instant, such tension disappeared. Hoggle instead caught her look, and banished any outward angst from sight as he did his best to smile. Whatever he hid within him, whatever troubled him, vanished before her questioning gaze.

Now, however, was not the time to investigate, so instead Sarah withdrew her hand from the group. "Thanks guys, I really appreciate it. Like I said, it's been a weird couple of days, not including the fact that everything's suddenly...well, _magically_ complicated."

"Is it true then, my lady? Does thou truly possess magic?"

"I guess so." She raised a hand in front of her, examining as if she could find some sign of magic beneath her fingertips. Nothing looked out of place, nor did she see some indication that her body now thrummed with power. On the contrary, she felt more ordinary than changed or special. "I'm not sure why or how, but it's there, somehow. Well, it is according to Jareth."

"If His Majesty says it is true, then it must be so," murmured Didymus, unable to keep his awe from seeping into his voice. "He would know best, after all. 'Tis he who devoted the last few days to keeping thee with us."

"What do you mean?"

"The rat's been locked in this room ever since we got here, and he wouldn't let anyone in until today. Strictly forbid it under royal orders, actually. No one saw him until he came out yesterday and said you're fine." Concern buoyed Hoggle's tone, as he added, "He's a slippery fool, but he does know more about magic than anyone else in the Underground."

"Our lady was in good hands, master Hoggle. After all, this is the second time His Majesty has saved a friend of mine." Didymus wriggled his eyebrows at Hoggle with his last remark, as if to prove a point. "Does thou now regret thy dour judgement of his character?"

"Ha! Of course I don't! If anything, we owe him more than ever." Turning back to Sarah, he failed to notice—or perhaps he blatantly disregarded—her amusement at their bickering. "Which reminds me, rumor's gone around the castle that he's helping you control whatever you got."

She took the opportunity to sit up in bed, relieved that the aches and pains of the prior day did not bother her actions. "Well, they're not wrong. Jareth and I made a deal: he'd teach me to use whatever this power is that I have, and in return the three of us have to go with him to find someone called the Oracle."

"The Oracle?!"

An unconcerning observer might have found the reactions in the room amusing, for Hoggle and Didymus gaped at their friend with unison exclamations. Ambrosius whined and put his nose between his paws, seeming to understand the gravity of the word. Sarah, however, only raised an eyebrow. "I guess you guys have heard of her?"

"Only in stories," said Didymus, "and usually the most terrifying tales. The Oracle is said to be fickle and unable to be found. Why would His Majesty want to visit _her_?"

"And why," Hoggle added, "would he want to come with us?"

She could only shrug in reply. "Something about her having answers, something about it being related to our quest. Whatever the case, he seems to think it's urgent to seek her out."

"Perfect. Just when I thought I could escape the rat for good, he decided to tag along."

"Friend Hoggle, be grateful His Majesty is well enough to assist! Thou knows that he has done much to keep us all alive."

As Hoggle grumbled under his breath, Sir Didymus stiffened. "Oh! Forgive me, my lady, but we were supposed to bring thee to His Majesty. Mayhaps it has to do with what thou mentioned about training. In any case, we shall await outside the door until thou makes thyself decent."

With a quiet command to Ambrosius—who raised his head for one last scratch under the jaw—Sir Didymus led his canine companion out of the room. Hoggle followed at his heels, but paused to glance back at Sarah. "Er, Sarah?"

"Yeah?"

"...Ah, it's nothing. Just glad to see you well. Never been good with all the mushy stuff." He laughed, a whisper of humor that struggled from his lungs, as he turned away. The dwarf, and her first friend in the Underground, was gone before she had time to respond.

Yet, in the moments after his departure, Sarah swore to herself that Hoggle had looked at her with fear in his wide eyes…

* * *

The castle at the edge of the goblin city felt never-ending, as if the Escher room Sarah once ventured through encapsulated every architectural inch around her. If Jareth's room offered a piece of personality, then his castle served only to bring up new questions, and new mysteries to envelop her concept of the Goblin King. It did not help that, as she followed her companions through the long halls, eyes watched her movements. Around every corner was a goblin—less menacing than the ones encountered in the forest, but similar enough to make Sarah shiver at their gazes. If their reverent expressions unnerved her before, the silent devotion they paid disturbed her.

Hoggle, ever vigilant, caught the way she gripped her red book tighter. "Don't pay 'em any mind," he whispered from her side. "Goblins are mainly fools—you're nothing but new and shiny to 'em."

"Do they know about the magic?"

"Missy, I think _everyone_ knows about the magic. What I want to know is why you've got that old book. Is it special to you or something?"

"Something like that," she muttered with a snort of a laugh. "It's definitely a book that's impossible to forget."

Her sarcasm did little to relieve the mood, however. Anxiety pursued Sarah down the hall all the way to two large oaken doors, whose wood stood carved in motifs of snarling beasts and sharpened claws. Here, amid the quiet watch of three goblins, Hoggle and Sir Didymus came to a stop. The knight was the first to speak. "His Majesty is out these doors in the courtyard, awaiting thy presence. Friend Hoggle and I were told not to disturb him once we brought thee here."

The carvings of wild eyes bore into Sarah, who struggled to pull herself from their path. "Are you sure you don't want to come with me?"

"My lady, thou will be fine. Besides, we would be of no use to thee for magic. If Ludo were here, he mayhaps be able to assist thee." Didymus patted Ambrosius on his head, as if the dog were the one worried about Ludo's whereabouts. "Alas, we know nothing of magic. Thou wilt be in fine hands with His Majesty, and we will prepare to embark on our new quest."

She looked to Hoggle for further reassurance, but he only shrugged. "Magic ain't something I've had good experiences with, but you learning is better than nothing. If you need someone to hold onto that book there though, I can at least do that."

"Oh, but...you know what, sure, take it. Just don't panic if it disappears." The book traded owners, just as the doors let out a bone-shaking groan and swung inward. "I guess that's my cue."

Sir Didymus seized upon the opportunity with a gentle shove. "Good luck, my lady!"

"Wait—hold on!"

Despite his size, the fox could be quite pushy, and within the span of a handful of seconds, Sarah stood on the other side of the now-closing wooden doors. It felt like mockery as they shut with a final, non-negotiable thud.

"So much for chivalry," she muttered to the wood.

The sight of the courtyard quickly banished any other thoughts, as she turned to examine the new location. What greeted her eyes was not at all the grandiose or ostentatious space of her expectations. Instead, the courtyard was no bigger than her apartment, hugged on all sides by the gray stone walls of the castle. The orange sky above remained unbroken by clouds, illuminating all in an eternal sunset. Even with the snug atmosphere, everything before her held some strange, newfound glow, or some unusual beauty enhanced by her eyes. Bushes of blooming roses ringed the courtyard perimeter in alternating pops of reds and whites. Yet, her focus rested on the cobblestone square, whose bricks were laid out in a pattern of black and white that went unidentified. Perhaps if she saw it from above, its image would be clear, but from her grounded position it provided only mystery.

Enthralled with the unexpected peace amid the chaotic castle, Sarah's eyes nearly skipped over the figure in the middle of the courtyard's pattern. He was silent with his back facing her, his attention occupied with something small and red sticking out of a nearby rosebush. As she drew closer, she bit back a laugh, recognizing what exactly the object was as she spoke. "You can just leave it there. It's no use moving it when it has a mind of its own half the time."

"Peculiar thing," she heard Jareth remark. He turned to face her, forgetting about the book a few feet away. "Mysteries seem to just crop up in your path."

The two stood apart, unsure how to broach the engulfing silence that stretched between them. Dressed once more in black, the Goblin King regarded Sarah with a tilt of his head. "So. You've come."

His voice betrayed, at least to Sarah's ears, an unexpected uncertainty. "Did you not expect me to come?"

"I make it a habit to not presume anything about you, Sarah Williams." Jareth studied her with those piercing eyes, and yet the intensity was absent. On the contrary, he appeared today to have his mind elsewhere, separated from the usual intrusive nature of his personality. Despite this lapse, she felt her pulse quicken under the scrutiny, and at the near-purr of her name. "You are," he continued after his pause, "after all, absolutely unpredictable."

Was it meant to be a compliment? A statement of fact? Regardless, she pushed onwards with a response. "That's rich coming from you. I didn't think you were the type of guy to have a rose garden."

The banter seemed to reorient the Goblin King, who rolled his eyes with a sigh. "I did not bring you here to admire flowers. This is a place away from eyes and ears, which makes it ideal for anyone to learn without the pressure of an audience."

The glint of Jareth medallion caught Sarah's gaze, and suddenly she recognized the pattern inlaid on the cobblestone under her feet. The same sideways 's' that rested on the familiar necklace stretched out to cover the entirety of the courtyard. "So...what exactly is this place?"

"This was once the physical center of the Labyrinth, before everything changed. Despite that, there is still a strong connection to magic, and therefore it is an ideal location for what you wish to learn. Tell me though, what do you know of magic?"

Sarah rustled through her memories. "Well, not much. Hoggle and Sir Didymus said they're made of magic, and I've seen you and Maria use it a few times. I know magic is fading from the Underground, but that's about it."

"It is still a start." Jareth smirked and held up a hand, as a flawless crystal sphere appeared between his fingers. The fresh scent of mint hung in the air, intruding upon the mesmerizing sight of Sarah's reflection across the ball's surface.

"Magic," he said as he rolled the orb from one hand to the other, "is not something that can be perfected. It is not a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat, nor a palm reader seeking fortunes. It is not a weapon, and not a tool. Magic is the energy that allows the Underground to exist, and gives life to those who live here. All things have magic—being made from the magic of the ground they walk—but only some have _power_. Your friend, the rock-caller, is a fine example. With his power, he can interact with nature to an extent."

Sarah remembered Ludo's howl, still fresh in her mind despite the seven years that had passed, and recalled how the rocks and boulders around him obeyed his summons. Her thoughts felt clumsy and slow, however, compared to the motions of Jareth's spellbinding fingers. "So you and I have power _and_ magic? I had no idea there was a difference."

"For us, there is little difference, as both are intertwined. What you now have is the ability to..._attune_ yourself to the Underground, so to speak. There is a personal magic within you, and it is your power. You can channel the power within you, amplify it with the magic of this world, or—with enough experience—pour your power back into the Labyrinth. Magic and power is a type of sense, but a strongly united one. Perhaps you've noticed that the world appears differently to your eye?"

"Yeah, things are brighter and more detailed. It's almost like I can see further, or see more."

"That is an effect of the power that runs through your veins, as it enhances your senses. While there is much that I could say regarding power, I suspect it may be better to keep things simple today."

With a flick of the wrist and a cloud of glitter, the crystal disappeared, and Sarah blinked and rubbed at her eyes. Yet, the intensity in Jareth's eyes lingered on the empty space where the ball once lay. "Humans are not made for magic—you know how it hurts, to have such power carve its way through your veins. Using power, harnessing magic, all of this overwhelms the senses. The effects of magic use are sensory, and produce different reactions for different individuals. My mother, for example, leaves chalk dust behind on all she touches. For myself—"

"Is it mint?" Sarah never meant to speak her thoughts aloud, but as the Goblin King turned upon her, she felt the need to continue. "I smelled mint yesterday, and just now too."

Perhaps he had not expected her to notice, as Jareth's eyebrows raised in momentary surprise. "Yes, it is the smell of mint, although I'm not sure why. In any case, you too should have a unique reaction to magic, although I haven't witnessed anything noticeable."

First came the cold slide of realization locking into place. Jareth missed this, but the reaction of Sarah clapping a hand to her mouth did not go unnoticed. A sly smile inched over his face. "You're turning red, precious. My, it must be _quite_ the experience to make you react like this."

She took a breath, wrestling panic back into place in favor of outward composure. Removing her shaking hand from her face, she heard her voice as if from far away. "I thought it was a dream, but I swear I keep tasting peach juice."

If anything, watching her fluster into calm only made Jareth's grin wider. "Well, isn't that ironic. I thought you enjoyed peaches. You certainly relished the one I gave you back in the day."

"You mean the one you used to drug me," Sarah shot back. "I stopped having a taste for them after that whole ordeal."

"It was nothing more than harmless fun, a little bit of wish fulfillment." The Goblin King appeared to ignore her growing anger, and chose not to antagonize her further with yet another conversational pivot. "Besides, that sort of magic is difficult to perform, especially for myself at the moment. Perhaps you'll learn one day, but until then, let's start with something simple."

Another flick of the wrist, and another crystal appeared in Jareth's hands. He held this one up on the tip of his finger, peering through as it magnified his eye. "We are not gods," he continued, "nor are we all-powerful. We hold great ability, but like all magic in the Underground, it relies on the wishes and dreams that fuel this realm. Thus, you must employ both to bring what you want to reality. Envision it, make it real in your mind, and focus upon channeling the dreams and wishes of the Labyrinth through yourself."

"So...I have to wish really hard to make things real?"

"You've done it before, haven't you? You've said the right words, and you've believed them enough to make what you wanted real. All you need to do is think the right words, precious. Surely you can do that."

She opened her mouth to argue, but the words refused to come. The years of refusing to wish had ingrained themselves deep within her head, to the point that even thinking of saying the word aloud made her panic. She hoped that Jareth could not see her inward wrestle with such a task, especially as she spoke. "I...I'll give it a shot. You make it look and sound so easy."

Just like the first, the second crystal popped from existence like an elaborate bubble, earning a chuckle from Jareth. "I've had two centuries to practice. Eventually, it all becomes second-nature, but you'll never get there unless you keep at it."

"Alright, let's give it a shot."

A warm wind blew through the courtyard, ruffling rose petals as Sarah squared her shoulders and closed her eyes. In her mind, she pictured the crystal Jareth held before, and imagined it resting in the palm of her hand. His directions had been unclear, but Jareth obviously expected something to happen, unless he meant for her to stand in place like a fool. Yet, she too found few words to describe the prickling sensation that began to take hold of her fingertips.

"Focus," Jareth urged, his voice warm and sonorous and half-registering through her concentration. "Make it true and real, turn the dream to a wish."

Sarah paid him little mind. There was a warmth in her veins, a pressure in the air that encased her being in a crushing embrace. Peach juice tasted sweet and fearful on her tongue, and she balled her free hand into a fist to keep from gagging. Her body felt like the dial of a radio, turning back and forth in an attempt to make contact with some signal amid an ocean of static. There was something just out of reach, some greater thing that she stood on the periphery of, right at the edge of falling. If she could just reach out, and make contact with it...

There came the feeling of latching on, as if two chains hooked together to be one. Suddenly, she felt stronger, with her thoughts clear and unblemished by other influences. Yet, the feeling was brief, for the moment she registered the shift, she felt a weight in her hand, and the lack of peach juice at the back of her throat. Whatever magic she tuned into vanished, leaving her oddly cold as she opened her eyes.

In her palm sat a lumpy little crystal, not quite round, but closer to a sphere than any other possible shape. With its opaque surface and gray coloring, it resembled a sad, slushy snowball.

"Well," Jareth said from behind her, where she could only hear his smile. "That was certainly an attempt."

"I felt something." Her voice felt strange in her throat, as if the hoarse sound she emitted was not her own. "Like I was part of something...bigger. Is that...does it always feel like that?"

"Sometimes."

A gloved hand reached from behind to tap upon the surface of the crystal, and Sarah watched as it dissolved with a feeble puff of glitter. "At least," she heard Jareth mutter, "it used to feel like that, before so much was lost."

Turning, she sucked in a breath at how close Jareth stood, and took a few steps back to give herself some needed personal space. The smell of mint and leather wafted from him, strong but not overpowering in their intensity. Yet it was once again his eyes that held her attention, both luminous despite their differing shades of blue. She felt as if she peered into his very soul within those eyes, seeing not the usual bombastic attitude, but something softer, something akin to sorrow. Like the tidbits from his bedroom, the emotions he held was just another piece of the puzzle that was the Goblin King, although she had no idea what it would reveal when complete. "You said it gets easier, right?"

"All things eventually do. You have the advantage of not learning everything on your own, at least. It makes it less likely for you to make mistakes that way."

"I always tell my students that we need mistakes. It's the only way we can learn to improve."

With that, the strange look evaporated from Jareth, although he did not break her gaze as his eyebrows furrowed. "Truly the words of a teacher-turned-student. But I suppose you're right. You will eventually succeed as I do, despite the uncertainty of the time we have to train."

Sarah could not help but grin, thinking of the last time she raced against the clock to accomplish the impossible. A new desire flared in her chest, crowding out the years of panic and worry. Now, there remained only the drive to prove herself. "Time limits haven't stopped me before, Jareth. What makes you think they'd stop me now?"

The smile Jareth displayed was the same from the day before, a brief glimpse into something beyond mockery or surface-level amusement. "Well then, let's try it again."

Once more there was the taste of peach juice in Sarah's throat. This time, she did not panic.

From the nearby bush, the little red volume stood guard over the learning, until an unfortunate breeze knocked it onto the cobblestone. Unseen by either kingly or heroic eyes, it fell open, but the wind continued to blow and turn past the beginning of the story. Soon the familiar words gave way to blank pages, as the breeze died down and the fluttering of paper ceased. However, what no one saw, what all failed to see, were how the pages failed to remain blank for long. For under the watch of the sun, words in black ink began to appear, as if the Labyrinth itself wrote the tale unfolding before all.

* * *

**And so the teacher becomes the student, and the magical glittering man becomes the teacher!**

**I want to first apologize for the delay in getting this chapter out (remember when I said it would be out a month ago? I really need to stop giving myself deadlines I can't meet...). Part of it I can chalk up to moving, and part of it comes from the function of this chapter. This is the point where, as excited as I am to start talking about magic, I also have to make sure it makes sense to someone besides myself. Not only that, but I can't have Jareth just spout worldbuilding exposition the entire time! It took a few drafts to get to a nice balance of plot and worldbuilding, and to begin to understand just how magic works within the Underground. There's more to it than what's presented here, but be patient. We, like Sarah, will learn more in time.**

**Speaking of magic, I need to give some inspirational credit to Michael Scott's series "The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel," which also has magic tied to the senses (in his case, only colors and smells-no correlation between this and the chapter title, however. That's actually a tip of the hat to Terry Pratchett). It's been years since I read the books, but the idea of magic that smells of mint stuck around in my head, and inspired a contrasting experience to the sweet taste of peaches that Sarah goes through. Fun fact though: originally in my drafts, Jareth's magic smelled of cinnamon, and Sarah tasted honey instead of peach juice! Once I changed the latter, the former changed to better match. After all, there is that "romance" tag that I have to get to. ;)**

**This note is getting longer than I anticipated, so I'll cut my ramblings short. Thank you to all reviewers so far! It's really wonderful to see people enjoying the story so far, especially when the best stuff is still to come! The next two chapters are going to be a bit wonky (lots of character development rather than plot development, sort of the opposite of the last nine chapters), but I'm aiming to have CH 11 done a month from now. Here's hoping I can accomplish that!**

**Until next time.**


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